A Call to Remember and Reflect

Q: What does the Bible say about God's mercy?

The Bible emphasizes God's mercy through His redemptive acts and faithfulness to His people, as seen in Micah 6:4. God's mercy is a central theme throughout Scripture, highlighting His unwavering faithfulness and love for His people. In Micah 6:4, God reminds Israel that He brought them out of Egypt and redeemed them from slavery, emphasizing His compassionate nature. This repeated act of deliverance underscores His relentless mercy, as He continually seeks to remind His people of His goodness and grace. God's mercy is not based on our merit but is a reflection of His character. As seen in 1 Timothy 6:6, 'but godliness with contentment is great gain,' we realize that true gain comes from recognizing and being satisfied in God's merciful provision.

Q: How do we know God is faithful?

God's faithfulness is demonstrated through His promises and the history of His dealings with His people, as depicted in Micah 6. God's faithfulness is revealed through His consistent actions in history and His unwavering commitment to His covenant with His people. Micah 6 provides a poignant reminder of how God has faithfully led Israel from bondage in Egypt to a promised future. His question to His people, 'What have I done unto thee?' serves as a reminder of His goodness and the countless ways He has acted on their behalf. Each act of deliverance serves as an assurance of His enduring faithfulness. Furthermore, in Philippians 1:6, we read that He who began a good work in us will be faithful to complete it, reinforcing that God's fidelity extends beyond mere history into our lives today.

Q: Why is remembering God's deeds important for Christians?

Remembering God's deeds fosters gratitude and strengthens faith, reminding Christians of His mercy and provisions. For Christians, the act of remembering God's past deeds serves multiple purposes. It fosters a spirit of gratitude, as we reflect on His mercies and provisions throughout our lives. In Micah 6, God commands His people to remember how He delivered them from Egypt, urging them to reflect on His righteousness and compassion. When we recall His faithfulness, it empowers us to trust Him more deeply in our present trials. Moreover, as 1 Chronicles 16:12 instructs, we are called to 'remember His marvelous works,' which not only aids in fostering a grateful heart but also assures us that He is actively working in our lives today, further solidifying our faith in His character and promises.

Q: What does the phrase 'godliness with contentment is great gain' mean?

'Godliness with contentment is great gain' emphasizes that true fulfillment comes from a right relationship with God, not material possessions. 'Godliness with contentment is great gain' indicates that spiritual riches far outweigh worldly possessions. This principle, found in 1 Timothy 6:6, reveals that true contentment is rooted in recognizing our dependence on God rather than seeking fulfillment in material things. In a world that often equates success with accumulation, Scripture reminds us that genuine satisfaction comes from a relationship with Christ. As His children, cultivating godliness leads to a heart of contentment, allowing us to appreciate the blessings we have rather than focusing on what we lack. This reflects the eternal truth that our ultimate worth is not determined by our possessions but by our identity as children of God.

Q: How does God prove His people according to Micah 6?

God proves His people by reminding them of His past faithfulness and calling them to account for their complaints. In Micah 6, God takes on the role of judge, calling His people to testify against Him regarding their grievances. He asks, 'What have I done unto thee?' which indicates His willingness to engage with their complaints. However, this question also serves as a means of proving His people; it encourages them to reflect on their lives and recognize His mercy and compassion over time. By recalling His covenant faithfulness and the historical acts of deliverance, God exposes the futility of their complaints and calls them to trust in His righteousness. This process of proving is not merely punitive, but rather restorative, aimed at aligning their understanding with His truth and will.

Let's open our Bibles to Micah chapter 6. Micah chapter 6. We just read in Psalm 103 that the Lord remembers that we are dust. He knows that we are often foolish and often slow of heart to believe him. And in his mercy, he continually reminds us of who he is and what he's done for us and brings us again and again to that place of worship, that place of love, that place of thanksgiving. We are in too many ways so much like the world, a murmuring and complaining people.

Children of Israel represent us more than we would like for them to. I don't know if you've noticed when they when they give the the percentages of people that are dissatisfied in America with the direction that the country's going or there. They asked the question, Are you better off today than you were last year? And I've noticed something, and that is that it doesn't matter who's in power and it doesn't really matter what the condition of the economy is, there are always more people dissatisfied and discontent than there are those that are content. That's our nature. Always wanting more. Always wanting something different, not satisfied with what we have. And the Lord's word confirms that. Proverbs 27 verse 20 says, the eye of man is never satisfied, never satisfied. Proverbs 30 verse 15 says, The horse leech, and I didn't know what that was. It's just a leech that gets on a horse. That's a blood-sucking leech. And in Proverbs chapter 30, it says, the horse leech hath two daughters.

The first one's name is Give, and the second one's name is Give. Give me, give me, give me. Always wanting more. In our text tonight, the Lord reminds us of how full of mercy, how faithful, and how compassionate he has been, and causes us, through faith, to be a grateful people.

Let's read these verses together. Just the first five verses of Micah chapter 6 Hear ye now what the Lord saith. Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice. Hear, O mountains, the Lord's controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth. I was thinking mountains are attached to the earth, as we are in so many ways, attached to this world, the foundations of the earth. The Lord remembers that we're made of dust. That's where we came from.

The Lord hath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel, O my people, what have I done unto thee? And wherein have I wearied thee? Testify against me. If you have a complaint of the way I've treated you, what I've done for you, tell me what it is. Really, every time we complain, we're We're doing what Adam did in the garden, aren't we? We start out by blaming the woman, but really we're blaming God. Verse four.

I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. I redeemed thee out of the house of servants. I sent before thee Moses and Aaron and Miriam. Oh, my people. Remember now what Balaam, king of Moab, consulted and what Balaam, the son of Beor, answered him from Shittim and Gilgal, from Shittim all the way unto Gilgal, that ye may know the righteousness of the Lord.

That's what we need to know. We need to know that our God is righteous, that everything he does is right. That hymn was always encouraging to me that we just sang because the Lord reminds me of how he often has to send hard times in order to remind us of how truly merciful he is.

Paul said to Timothy in 1 Timothy chapter 6, men by nature assume that gain is godliness. Now, I understand that to mean that by nature we assume that if we're getting more, the two daughters of horse leech is give, give, give me more, give me more. And we err in thinking that if we're getting more, Whether it be more affirmation from other men, whether it be more material things, whether it be more status, whatever it is, we assume, the world, the natural man assumes that more is godliness. But then the Lord corrects us, and he says in the next verse, he says, but, but, here's the truth, godliness with contentment is great gain.

And this is the mystery of godliness, that God was manifested in the flesh. So godliness with contentment is great gain. All that we could be content with what the Lord gives us. And that all really begins with being content with what he's done for us, being content with Christ, being content before God with that which the father is satisfied with.

I've titled this message a call to remember and a call to reflect. And I thought about so many passages in the scriptures that the Lord gives us to remind us of this. Psalm 23, David said, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not be in want of anything. He provides me everything I need in this life and in the life to come. What a faithful shepherd he is.

Paul tells us in Romans chapter two, verse four, that the goodness of God is what changes our mind. It's not the threats, it's not the chastisements, it's the goodness of God that leadeth to repentance. The change is our thinking about about who we are and who God is and what he's done for us and how unworthy we are and how merciful he is and how gracious he is, how full of kindness he is toward us. It's his goodness.

When we reflect and we remember how how good he has been to us. That's what he's saying to the children of Israel. I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. I redeemed you out of the house of servant. I sent Moses before you. And then in verse five, he reminds them of what Balak did with Balaam.

And we're gonna look at that in just a moment. The more we Remember, and the more we reflect on how full of mercy and how good our Lord has been to us, the more we will love Him in return. That's what John said, 1 John 4. We love Him. Why do we love Him? Because He first loved us. Oh, what love He has shown toward us. What manner of love. The Father has shown toward us that we should be called the children of God.

Isaiah chapter 5 verse 4, the Lord says something and Micah and Isaiah were contemporaries and we see in Isaiah chapter 1 a very similar call from the prophet Isaiah as Micah's giving. when he calls the whole earth to testify. And Isaiah does that in Isaiah chapter one. But here in Isaiah chapter five, verse four, Isaiah says, what could have been done more for my vineyard than what I have done for it?

What more could I do for you? than what I've done for you. I need to be reminded of that. I lose sight of that so easily. And I slip into that thinking that gain is godliness when godliness with contentment. Contentment is great gain. I wanted to read Psalm 103 because of verse two. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Don't forget. Oh, we would be such a grateful people. We would find ourselves rejoicing in the Lord always. If we could only remember how full of mercy, how loving, how gracious, how kind, how faithful, He has been, and continues to be, and will be, and will be. 1 Chronicles 6, verse 12 says, remember His marvelous works, what He hath done, and the wonders and the judgments of His mouth.

What mercy He has toward us in giving us His word, And not just giving us it in print. Paul said, I did not come to you in word only, but in power and in spirit. A lot of people have the Bible. A lot of people can quote passages from the Bible, but what a blessing it is when the spirit of God makes the word of God alive. reminds us of who Christ is and what he's done for us and how faithful our God is to keep all of his promises.

That passage I was quoting from in 1 Timothy chapter 6 about being content with godliness with contentment is great gain. and how the natural man says, no, negain is godliness. And Paul goes on to admonish Timothy not to fall for the promises that the world makes, the deceitfulness of riches, promising to make you content, promising to make you happy, and they can't deliver what they promise. And then he says this to Timothy, he says, but thou, O man of God, flee these things, run from them, and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Well, you can't follow after those things without following after Christ. The Lord Jesus himself is the manifestation of all of those things. I love how the Lord reminds us in Matthew chapter six when he says, why do you worry? Why do you worry?

Consider the lilies of the field. They don't, they don't spin. They don't toil. And yet Solomon in all of his glory was not arrayed as they are. And then he says to us, consider the birds of the air. The birds of the air, they sow not, neither do they reap, neither do they gather into barns, and yet your heavenly father feeds them.

Are you not so much worthy? Are you not so much more valuable to God than they are? The Gentiles seek after these things. The natural man puts his affections on those things, but you seek first the kingdom of God. and his righteousness and all these other things will be added unto you.

The Lord will feed you with that food that is convenient for you. That which is necessary, that which is good, he will provide. In his measure, in his wisdom, and in his time, he always has. He's been so faithful. He hasn't brought us to where we are to leave us now. Paul said to the church in Philippi, he said, I'm persuaded that he that began a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. He's gonna keep you.

The Lord is admonishing us here, brethren. Let's go back to our text, Micah chapter six. Hear ye now what the Lord saith. Reminded of that passage we looked at in Hebrews chapter three, Sunday, that where the Lord is telling us not to be like those unbelieving Israelites, but to hear and to give ear. How are we gonna do that?

Well, he that hath an ear to hear. Heareth what the Spirit saith unto the churches. And the hearing ear is a gift from God, isn't it? And so where do we find ourselves? Oh, Lord, enable me to hear your voice. Lord, you said that your sheep will hear your voice and they'll follow you. Lord, enable me. If you don't give me a hearing ear, I'll go the way of Balaam who ran after Greed for profit?

Arise, contend thou before the mountains and let the hills hear thy voice. The Lord is calling a great court to order. And he's sitting on the bench as the judge. And he's telling us He's calling all of creation. He did, like I said earlier, Isaiah did this in Isaiah chapter one. Isaiah chapter one says, hear O ye heavens and give ear O ye earth for the Lord hath spoken. He's calling everyone to come and to testify what he has said and God's people come.

He said, I have a controversy with you. You see that in verse two? Here ye mountains, those things that are attached to the earth. He remembers that we're dust. I've got a controversy with you. Why do we strive with our maker? He's always right. That's what the word controversy means. You remember when Abram and Lot's shepherds strived? The Bible says they had a strife over who was going to get the grasslands to shepherd their flock. And Abraham stepped in, and Abraham settled the controversy. And they each went their own way.

And that's the word here. It is also translated cause or case. God says, I've got a case with you. I've got a controversy with you. There's a strife here. Oh, I fear this is, This is far, far too often in our walk in this world. And the controversy is settled when the defendant agrees with the judge. You know, the Lord is sending down a sentence and And the defendants agree, Lord, you're right. Lord, you're right. I am a sinner.

I do loathe myself. Lord, why am I thus? Why am I so unbelieving? Why do I ever worry? Why do I ever call you into question? Why do I always, why do I set my affections on the things of this earth? Why do I live my life as if this world was my home? Why do I do this? And the liberty and deliverance comes. Well, look, let's look at the rest of this verse.

Verse two, the Lord's controversy is strong foundations of the earth for the Lord had the controversy with his people and he will now, That word plead is not that God is begging us. It's most often translated to prove. You prove something when you make it what it is. And so what the Lord's saying is, I'm calling my people together. There's a case here, there's a cause, And the controversy is that you're not content with what I'm doing. But this hearing is going to prove you. It's going to prove you. It's going to cause you to agree with the judge. And in being proved, the judge is going to show mercy.

You know, we often speak of being mercy beggars. And I fear sometimes that we get the idea that the more sincere I am and the harder I beg, the more likely it will be that the Lord will provide for me. But that's not what a mercy beggar is at all. A mercy beggar is one who has nothing to redeem himself. He has nothing to purchase his soul. He agrees that mercy is the only hope that he has and acknowledges that he has nothing to pay. He acknowledges before God that he has nothing to pay.

Now, the Lord is not interested in just chastising his children. He's proving us. He's bringing us to that place to where we agree with him. Lord, you're right. You're always right. And I do have nothing to pay. And I acknowledge that. And Lord, you've been so full of mercy toward me. Why would I ever be anything less than fully thankful and glad? And yet I am.

Lord, you're right. The judge will pronounce a verdict according to his righteousness and his justice, and men will be proven as to whether or not they believe or they don't believe. To believe God is to agree with God, is it not? Just to agree with God. Lord, the only hope I have is that you would be merciful to me. If you left me to myself, I'd still be in Egypt.

I'd still be under the harsh taskmaster of the law, requiring more and more quota of bricks. And every time I get close to, in my own mind, thinking that I'm achieving my quota, they take away the straw. and they increase the quota to more and more so that I can never stop working, I can never quit working, laboring to deliver myself and never able. Lord, that's where I would be. And the evidence of that manifests itself every day in my unbelief. The fact that I worry, the fact that I try to take control of things, the fact that I don't seek you as I ought with all of my heart.

Lord, you're right. You've called this court hearing. You've declared the truth according to your righteousness and your justice, and I'm guilty. You're right. And God says, I proved you. I proved you to be one of mine. Because the unbeliever will go about justifying themselves. The unbeliever will go about trying to convince God and convince themselves and convince other men of how good and how faithful they are. Verse three, oh my people, This is to God's elect. This is to you and me.

Oh, my people, what have I done unto thee? Have I ever treated you wrong? No, Lord, you never have. You never have. And wherein have I wearied thee? Have I caused you to worry? Is your worry my cause, my fault? Have I done something? Oh no, Lord, that's all in me.

God proves us when we bear the full responsibility for our sin. When we're shut up to Christ, we know that our only hope is mercy, and we've got no one to blame but ourselves. For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, verse four, and I redeemed thee, I bought you. We've been redeemed, we've been purchased, not with silver and gold, not with corruptible things, but with incorruptible things, with the precious blood of Christ, we've been bought with a price. And God has accepted that price.

God said, I saw the blood and I'm satisfied. I saw the travail of my son's soul, and I'm satisfied. Oh, Lord, make me. Make me satisfied with Christ for all of my righteousness, all of my wisdom, all of my sanctification, all of my redemption. Lord, make me satisfied with Christ. That's how that hymn we sang, Tom. ended that way. Lord, why have you done this? So that you will know that Christ is all. Christ is all. And what freedom there is, what liberty there is, when the Lord Jesus becomes everything to us. You know, by nature, we're just takers. By nature, we're... In Acts chapter 20, let me divert here for just a moment.

Paul meets with the Ephesian elders. Several men, those churches back then. I don't believe that there were a bunch of elders in one church in Ephesus. Ephesus was a very large city. There were a lot of house churches and there were elders in each church leading a group of people. And Paul was coming through town for his last time. And he gathered together the elders of the churches in Ephesus.

And he gives them his last counsel. He instructs them. And he reminds them that false prophets are going to come in. He tells them, I never wanted man's silver or gold. I told you the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And then toward the end of his counsel to these elders, he says this, he says, remember the words of the Lord Jesus, who said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. And that's it. And the way he said it was obvious that all of these men knew those words. This is like one of those faithful sayings that everybody understood it. Everybody often repeated it. Everyone knew that this was what the Lord Jesus had said.

And yet it's the only place in the Bible where those words are found. You would think as common knowledge as those words were that they would be recorded in all four gospels, at least in one of them, they're never recorded. Paul alone mentions that in Acts chapter 20.

And he admonishes these elders to not live for themselves. What a truth that is. Who are those that are content? Who are those that are happy? Those that are receiving of the Lord and giving and never expecting or waiting or looking for anything from man in return.

I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. I redeemed thee out of the house of servants. I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam." Now we know what Moses represents. Moses is a picture of the law. Moses was the one who smote the rock with a rod of justice and the water came forth. A picture of the rod of God's justice smiting Christ at Calvary's cross and the water of life flowing from the Lord Jesus as a result of him being stricken by the law, burying our sins in his body and suffering the full wrath and full justice and judgment of God there at the cross. That's Moses. He's the law. and Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. He satisfied the demands of the law. He said, I did not come to destroy the law, I came to fulfill it.

I sent before you Moses and I sent before you Aaron. Now we know who Aaron was. Aaron was, his name means light bearer, light bearer. The Lord Jesus is the light of the world and he is our faithful high priest. He is the one who presents himself to our heavenly father as the sacrifice for sin. He is the one who takes the things of God and faithfully communicates them, reveals them, I should say, not communicates them, but reveals them to the hearts of his people. There's Aaron.

I've sent me, I brought you up out of Egypt. I've redeemed you from the slaves, from slavery of sin. And I sent Moses before you. I showed you the fullness of the law and I provided for you a priest who would bring the things of God to you and take the things that God demanded and God required and offer them up as a sacrifice for sin. and Miriam.

Miriam, Moses's sister. Miriam at one point joined in a rebellion against Moses. The Lord forgave her for that. But Miriam's name translated means rebellion. Rebellion. The New Testament parallel to the Old Testament word The Old Testament name Miriam is Mary. If your name is Mary, your name means rebellion.

I sent before you the law of God and I satisfied the demands of the law so that there is now therefore no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. I have sent you a priest who has revealed the truth of God in himself to your hearts. And he has provided for you an offering to the father that the father's pleased with. And I've revealed to you your need for that. I've revealed to you what a rebel by nature you are.

Only sinners need a savior. Only sinners need one to fulfill the law for them. Moses and Aaron are not needed if I'm not a rebel, if I'm not a sinner. But the Lord has revealed to each of his children what they are by nature. And that revelation has caused them to rejoice in having the law satisfied, a sacrifice made, and even as a rebel, I can come before the throne of grace boldly and find help. I need help. I need help. I'm a needy man. I've got to have help. Why would I come before a throne of grace if I had something to offer, if I had something to pay? No, I need mercy. I don't have anything to pay.

I've done all this for you. Now, between verses four and five, is the 40 years of the wilderness because verse five happened just before Moses died and Joshua led the children of Israel into the promised land. And so verses four and five are here together to say, I brought you out and I delivered you into the promised land and I provided everything for you in between.

These Israelites walked across the River Jordan in the same shoes that they left Egypt wearing, the same clothes they left Egypt wearing. Can you imagine how harsh the environment of the wilderness would have been? And yet their shoes didn't wear out and their clothes didn't get old. How's a miracle?

But the Lord is saying to us, from the time that I brought you out of Egypt to the time that I'm gonna take you across the Jordan into the promised land, I have provided everything for you. And then in verse five, he mentions Balak. Now the children of Israel were being blessed of God. They were destroying all their enemies. I mean, this is a massive army coming out of Egypt. The testimony of what God, Jehovah had done for them in bringing them out of Egypt and drowning the Egyptian army and defeating, killing Pharaoh's army and bringing them across the Red Sea and providing for them miraculously through the wilderness. Those stories have been told and believed. and the people.

Malak, the king here mentioned in Balak, the king of Moab, in Numbers 22, 23, and 24, we have the story of this story of Balaam and Malak and Moab. And the first thing that that Balak says, these people are going to lick the dust of Moab. They've done that all the way and they're going to do it again. And so what did Balak do?

He hired Balaam to curse the children of Israel. And much like Caiaphas in John chapter 11 who unwittingly spoke words that were prophetic. Balaam is going to have words put in his mouth. Now we know Balaam was a false prophet because of what God says about him in the New Testament. Jude speaks of Balaam, Revelation speaks of Balaam, they all speak of the false prophet of Balaam. And yet when you read Numbers 22, 23, and 24, Balaam, when he stood up to curse the children of Israel, spoke nothing but blessings. Tremendous blessings. Incredibly true things that Balaam spoke about the children of Israel and about their God.

And the Lord is saying to me and you, it doesn't matter what curses the world might intend for you. It doesn't matter what trials or troubles you go through. I'm going to take, I'm going to take that which men meant for evil and I'm going to make it good.

What more can I do for you? Why do you ever worry? Why do you complain? Why are you so attracted to things of this world? Have I not been faithful to you? Have not I been full of mercy? Oh Lord, you have been. And mercy is what I need. I brought you up out of Egypt. I could have left you there. Who made you to differ? Why is it that you hear God's word and you've got loved ones who can't hear? Why is it? Because I made you to differ.

I gave you what you have. And I provided you the law and a law keeper. I provided you a priest. I revealed to you your own rebellion and even right to the end. And I gave you everything you needed throughout the wilderness and even right to the very end. When the Moabites and King Balak and Balaam tried to curse you, I turned their cursings into blessings. I know the thoughts that I have for you, thoughts of good and not of evil.

I'm going to bring you to your expected end. I'm full of mercy. Our Heavenly Father, how thankful we are for your word. Lord, we rejoice right now in what you have told us. Lord, we know that we're gonna find ourselves again and again having to be reminded of who you are and what you've done and how merciful and gracious you've been to us. Lord, thank you that your mercy endureth forever. We ask it in Christ's name, amen. 40, number four zero, let's stand together.

A Call to Remember and Reflect

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about God's mercy?

How do we know God is faithful?

Why is remembering God's deeds important for Christians?

What does the phrase 'godliness with contentment is great gain' mean?

How does God prove His people according to Micah 6?

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A Call to Remember and Reflect

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about God's mercy?

How do we know God is faithful?

Why is remembering God's deeds important for Christians?

What does the phrase 'godliness with contentment is great gain' mean?

How does God prove His people according to Micah 6?

Sermon Transcript

About Greg Elmquist

Comments

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