Our text tonight is Micah chapter
2 verse 12 through chapter 4 and verse 2. The title of my message is, This
Time is Evil. This time is evil. In the text before us this evening,
the prophet Micah, writing by divine inspiration, speaks plainly
of apostate religion and the purpose of God. The peculiar distinct honor of
the sons of Issachar, we are told, was that they were men
that had understanding of the times to know what Israel ought
to do. If ever there was a day when
such men are needed, it is this day. This time is evil. Look at Michael chapter 2 verse
3. Therefore, thus saith the Lord,
behold, against this family do I devise an evil. from which
ye shall not remove your necks, neither shall you go haughtily,
for this time is evil." This time is evil. Without question,
we are living in a reprobate age. Ours is a generation under
the judgment of God. The spirit of Antichrist in this
day is so thick you can cut it with a knife. Read the first
chapter of Romans and tell me I'm wrong. The marks of divine
judgment are evident throughout our society. Spiritual blindness
has engulfed this age. God has sent a strong delusion
that men should believe a lie. And when God sends a delusion,
men are deluded. This religious age, carrying
a Bible in their hands and crying, I believe in the book, the blood
and the blessed hope, is the most deluded religious age this
world has ever known. They hold to the word of God
like a bird clings to that telephone line out there and had no clue
what's going on inside. have no clue what God's written
in his word, because God has sent blindness. God has sent
blindness. Moral perversity is rampant throughout
society. Not just rampant that it's tolerated,
rampant that it's promoted, and anything contrary to it is not
tolerated. Moral decadence This age is incomparable
with any age. Chaos, self-serving chaos and
rebellion runs through the whole of society. And those things
were told plainly in Romans chapter 1 are the results of free will
works religion. Religion that debases the character
of God. in order to exalt and magnify
the dignity of man, worshiping man as though he were God in
the house of God. The more thoroughly convinced
men and women are that salvation somehow depends on them, the
more corrupt they become. We should not be surprised by
the things we see happening. I mean by that specifically,
we shouldn't be surprised by the things that are going on
in the churches and the religious world around us, in the professed
church of God. In our day, throughout the book
of God, we're told plainly these things must come to pass. God's
prophets and God's apostles told us plainly that these things
would be characteristic of these last days. These last days not
being 2011, or 2010, 2009, these last days
being this gospel age in which the Lord Jesus Christ is calling
out a people for his namesake among all the nations of the
earth. These last days, John tells us, began during the days
when our Lord Jesus came into this world. John said this is
the last time. This is the last tick of the
clock. And the prophets and apostles, even as early as the first century
of Christianity, the apostles told us about these horrible
evils coming in by which the gospel was being perverted. The
Judaizers at Galatia, the Gnostics that John dealt with, the Gnostics
that were pervaded in the Church of Colossae. All of those heresies
that we face now, they faced in that day. This day is marked
by such things. The message of the Micah is a
message of divine judgment. But a message of divine judgment
that few men can grasp or understand. It is a message of divine judgment
upon the house of God. Not judgment upon God's true
people. No, no, that never happens. That shall never happen. Judgment
upon men and women who pretend to be God's people. many women
who are called by the name sons of Jacob, many women of the house
of Judah, many women among God's professed people. Judgment must
begin at the house of God and judgment has begun at God's house. Let's hold our Bibles open here
in the book of Micah and let me show you five things distinctly
in this portion of scripture. But before I get to our text
in chapter two, Beginning at verse 12, I've got to back up
and give you some thoughts ahead of that that will lay the background
for what we're going to look at in these verses before us. First, understand this. Micah
tells us at the very outset of this prophecy that this is God's
message to all nations and all people. Look at Micah chapter
1 verse 2. Hear, all ye people, hearken,
O earth, and all that therein is, and let the Lord God be witness
against you, the Lord from His holy temple. This is God's word
to everybody, to every generation, to men and women everywhere in
the world. Indeed it is. But pastor, you have to understand
that Micah was a prophet who lived in the days of Isaiah and
he was prophesying specifically about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar
and the destruction of the children of Israel being carried away
into Babylonian captivity, Jerusalem being destroyed, the temple being
destroyed, the worship of God in Judah being destroyed. Yes,
Micah was talking about that. Yes, Micah was prophesying about
that very thing. But if you read the book of Micah
with your eyes open, not many folks read the Bible that way,
you know. Read it with your eyes open and pay attention to what
it says. You'll see there are things written in Micah's prophecy
that can't possibly be ascribed to that Babylonian captivity.
There are things written here that cannot possibly be limited
just to that Babylonian captivity. The whole thing was intended
by God to be a picture to you and I of what we experience in
our day and of God's grace to us in Christ Jesus the Lord.
Read the Bible with eyes in the present tense for you. Did you
get that? Don Renneri, the book is written
to you. And if you read it as though
it were written to somebody else, you have placed severe limitations
on the word of God. God has written his word to you. It's addressed to me. This is
God's word to you and me in this generation. Micah declares to
us that God's judgment is both sure and just. Judgment follows
transgression. Sin demands punishment. Iniquity
demands retribution. The wages of sin is death, and
God will pay his debts. You know that that's true. Your
conscience bears witness that that's true. But Micah tells
us something else. He tells us something that few
people understand. The greatest evil in this world,
the vilest form of iniquity, transgression and sin, in this
world is idolatry. You see, idolatry is the worship
of man. Idolatry is the deification of
man. Look at Micah chapter 1 verse
5. For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins
of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of
Jacob? What's he talking about? Is it not Samaria? And what are
the high places of Judah? Are they not Jerusalem? He's
talking about idolatry. What's the transgression? It's
the worshiping of God, calling it the worship of God, the worshiping
of idols under the pretense of worshiping God. We don't. Therefore will I make Samaria
as an heap of the field and as plantings of a vineyard, and
I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley, and I will discover
the foundation thereof. Idolatry is the religion of Babel. Began back in Genesis chapter
11, men building a tower up to heaven by which they hoped to
arrive at God. Men by the work of their hands,
hoping to lift themselves up to God. Men by building a tower,
imagining that they can bring themselves to win God's favor
and be accepted of God. Babel religion is the religion
of confusion. It is the religion of Babylon.
It is called that throughout the scriptures. Babylon is the
worship of the work of your hands. Idolatry is all works religion. Now don't misunderstand what
I'm saying. I want to be sure you understand what I'm saying.
Every form of religion that makes salvation in any way somehow
to be dependent on you is the worship of your hands. It's idolatry. It's idolatry. Let's see if I
can make good on that. Listen to what God says. You
can read these later. Let me just read you some scripture.
Deuteronomy 31, the Lord says by his servant Moses, I know
that after my death, you will utterly corrupt yourselves and
turn aside from the way which I commanded you. Moses said,
I know you're going to corrupt yourselves. I know you're going
to turn aside from the word that God's given you. You remember
when God gave his law, God told Moses, you tell my people, they
shall not worship me on an altar that they had built. Worship
me on an altar of earth, something that's made by my hand. If you
lift up your tool on it, you've polluted it. You cannot ascend
to the altar by steps. If you do, you expose your nakedness. You expose your sin. We come
to God on an altar of his making. And that altar is Christ Jesus,
the Lord. But Moses said, I know soon as I'm dead, you're going
to abandon that. And evil will befall you in the
latter days because you will do evil in the sight of the Lord
to provoke him to anger. Watch this through the work of
your hands, through the work of your hands. Merle, you read
the book of God. over and over and over and over
and over again. He calls idolatry the work of
your hands. You'll no more serve the work
of your hands. You'll no more worship the work
of your hands. You'll no more bow down to the
work of your hands. But preacher, idolatry, that's
worshiping stumps and rocks and imaginary gods that the heathen
have invented. That's worshiping angels and
devils and such as that. Yeah, it's all that. It's all
that. And it's all worshiping the work of your hands. Every
idolater worships what he has made. Every idolater. Worships what
he has made Paul calls it in Colossians chapter 2 verse 23
will worship will worship Idolatry is setting man up in the house
of God Demanding that he be worshiped and honored and magnified and
exalted as though he were God That's idolatry and that's what
this age is doing all the time. I God calls all freewill works
religion sodomy. Sodomy. You can read it, Jeremiah
23. He says, this is sodomy. This is the practice of sodomy.
What is more perverse in your opinion, in your thinking? What term, what term just repulses you? Sodomy. Sodomy. What's the most degraded
thing about humanity? Sodomy. Nothing more repulsive. Nothing more degrading. Nothing
more hideous. Nothing more ugly. And that's
what God calls the religion of man. Sodomy. Sodomy. It is something worse than adultery. God says I compare it to Sodom
and Gomorrah. And yet, even in the midst of
this stern word, this word of fully deserved wrath and judgment,
the Lord God promised again that he would send his son to save
his people. Look at chapter 1, verse 15. Yet will I bring an heir unto
thee. Christ, the heir of all things.
Oh, inhabitant of Mauritius, this is the home of the prophet,
we're told. He shall come unto Adullam. You remember, David came to Adullam,
to the cave of Adullam, seeking refuge. Here, the prophet speaks
of David's son and David's Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ. He shall
come to Adullam. Watch this. Who is he? He's the
glory of Israel. This is the promise God gives
throughout his word. Just as soon as our parents had
fallen in the garden, before God expelled him from the garden,
he gave him a word of promise. I'm going to send my son, the
woman's seed. He'll crush the serpent's head.
And throughout the book, when God speaks of judgment, God promises
mercy. God speaks of judgment, God promises
grace. God speaks of judgment, God promises
salvation. And this is the promise he's
given. He speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ coming, our one
who is the glory of Israel, arising and revealing himself. Certainly
Micah is talking about our Lord's incarnation, his coming into
this world. But he's talking also about our
Lord's coming to his own in the mighty operations of his grace.
He arises in the glory of God, shines forth in the face of Jesus
Christ. Certainly he's talking about
our Lord's glorious second advent. All right, here's the second
thing. Micah tells us that this evil time is a day of evil beyond
our ability to comprehend. Paul calls it perilous, perilous
times. His words have come to pass.
Perilous times shall come. Men and women, having a form
of godliness, deny the very gospel of God. And this is clearly what
Michael spoke of in this chapter. Look at chapter two, verse five. In this day of wickedness, people
are engaged in a great Massive religious activity. Religious
activity everywhere. Religious activity going on everywhere. Most churches, there's something
going on every night of the week. Every night of the week. Keep
folks active, engaged in religion. Have meetings for this, meetings
for that, meetings for everything. All kinds of religious activity.
You used to play on the softball team, I think. Churches got their
cut of nonsense. Softball teams and basketball
teams and family life centers and religious activity, religious
activity, religious activity. Ceremony after ceremony after
ceremony. Everywhere. Religious activity. It's called having a form of
godliness. But those folks who are so devoted
to religion, Those folks who are so active in religion, so
zealous in religion, deny the power of it. They have a form
of godliness, but deny the power of it. Do you remember what the
power of God is? The gospel is the power of God
into salvation. And this religious world denies
the very gospel of God's grace. Look at verse 5. Therefore, thou
shalt have none that shall cast accord by lot in the congregation
of the Lord. What's he talking about? You
got your activity, you got your service, you bow down and worship
your idols. You go to your high places in
the mountains, you go to the high places in the forest and
you bow down and worship your gods. But it brings forth no
life like sodomites. It's a union and activity, but
no birth can ever come from it. No life can ever come from it.
Another mark of evil in this evil day is the fact that men
and women refuse to hear God's prophets and choose rather to
submit themselves to lying prophets drunk with the wine of Babylon's
fornication. Look what Micah says, verse six. Prophesy ye not, say they to
them. Prophesy ye not, say they to
them that prophesy. Don't talk to us like that. Don't
you? Don't you stand here and tell
us what God says what bad people we are and how great he is. Don't
stand here and tell us that we deserve judgment and that if
we're saved we'll have to be saved by grace alone. Don't stand
here and tell us that our righteousness is nothing but filthy rags and
we must have the righteousness of another. Don't stand here
and tell us that we'll either have our sins atoned for by a
substitute or perish under the wrath of God and that just slip.
Don't you dare tell us that. Prophesy not, they say. They
shall not prophesy to them that they shall not take shame. God says, all right, you want
it that way? I'll fix it that way. You don't
want to hear my prophets? I'll fix it so you can't hear
my prophets. You don't want to confess your shame? I'll fix
it so you can't confess your shame. Look at verse 11. If a
man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will
prophesy unto thee, of wine and of strong drink, he shall even be the prophet
of this people." That's all right. I won't tell you those things.
No, I won't talk bad about you. And I won't make you feel bad
about anything. I'll speak to you with the wine
and strong drink of Babylon's fornication. I'll tell you that
salvation is in your hands. That God's in your hands. Salvation's
up to you. Salvation by your righteousness,
by your will, by your good works. Now you've got to trust Jesus,
of course you do. You've got to believe on the
Son of God, of course you do. But now, there are things that
depend on you. You've got to do good, or you'll
lose your reward. You've got to do good, or you
can't be sanctified. You've got to do good, or you
can't really be righteous. They'll prophesy to you of wine
and strong drink, and you'll say, well, tell us more. The
prophets given do not reflect some problem with God. The problem's
with man. The evil is altogether his doing,
heaped to put himself by his own hands. God's spirit is not
straightened. Look at verse 7. O thou that
art named the house of Jacob, Is the spirit of the Lord straightened?
Are these his doings? This wickedness, this befalling
you, this idolatry, this is your doing. Do not my words do good
to him that walketh uprightly? You follow me, you obey me, you
trust me. My words do good to you. You
reject me, reject my word, reject my son, despise my counsel. My
words bring wrath and judgment upon you. God says the spirit
of the Lord is not straight. Oh, what a good word of grace. Often, my spirit is straightened
so that I cannot pray, but his spirit's never straightened.
And the Lord Jesus still stands as a lamb slain upon the throne
of grace and makes intercession for his people according to the
will of God. Often, my spirit's straightened, my heart's straightened,
and I try as I may, I can't preach. but his spirit is not straightened,
and the word of God is not bound, not even by my limitations and
my failures. The word of God goes forth and
brings forth fruit exactly as he has ordained. Here is the
evil of this age. Men and women, by the practice
of their idolatry, take God's glory They take God's glory, the very
gospel of life, from their own children and seal their damnation
in religious idolatry. Look at verse 9. From their children
have you taken away my glory forever. From their children have you
taken away my glory forever. the glory of God revealed in
the gospel, they take away from their children and give them
a lie by which they should be damned. The Lord God calls for
us to come out. Come out. Come out. Come out. Come out. Come out. All the way
through the book, all the way through the book, God calls for
clear distinction on your part, on my part. He says, come out
of her. Come out of her. Come out of
her. Come out of Babylon. He never says stay in and reform.
He never says stay there and, well, I hear fellows all the
time, and some of them get this message. And you who do, I hope
you hear it. And I hope it offends you enough
to make you pay attention. Fellows tell me all the time,
well, I go to church and they don't preach anything down there,
but you were down there. I teach Sunday school down there.
I have a little influence. I feel like I get if you teach
the truth you won't have any You won't be teaching Sunday
school. Well, I I I teach the gospel these folks. No, you don't
if you did that pastor wouldn't let you there No, you don't. No, you don't come out. Look
at verse 10 Arise ye and depart For this is not your rest, no
rest for your soul in false religion. Because it is polluted, it shall
destroy you, evil with sore destruction. Are you sure that's what it's
talking about? Turn over to 2 Corinthians 6. Let's see. God says in Revelation 18, 4,
come out of her, my people, that ye be not partaker of her sins. that you receive not of her plagues. Now look at what it says in 2
Corinthians 6, verse 14. Be ye not unequally yoked together
with unbelievers. Be not unequally yoked together
with unbelievers. What does that mean? What does
that mean? Now listen carefully. Listen carefully. I urge you
who are not married, when God arranges opportunity and time
for you to marry, don't even think about marrying an unbeliever.
But that's not what this passage is talking about. That's not
what it's talking about. I urge you, children of God,
don't make your day-by-day associations with the ungodly. I urge you,
don't do it. You will only bring yourself
harm. Don't do it. Don't do it. But that's not what
this passage is talking about. This passage is not telling you
that you shouldn't buy groceries down at the grocery store because
they sell beer there. It sure ain't telling you that.
It's not telling you that you ought not to have associations
with unbelievers in day-by-day life. Well, I can't join the
labor union because there are unbelievers there. That's not
what it's telling you. That's not what it's telling you. What's
it talking about? It's talking about religious association.
Read the chapter. Read the passage. Be not unequally
yoked together with unbelievers, for what fellowship hath righteousness
with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light
with darkness? And what concord hath Christ
with Belial? And what part hath he that believeth
with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple
of God with idols? For you are the temple of the
living God. As God hath said, I will dwell
in them and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they
shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among
them and be you separate saith the Lord and touch not the unclean
thing And I will receive you and will be a father unto you
and you shall be my sons and daughters saith the Lord Having
therefore these promises dearly beloved. Let us cleanse ourselves
from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit Perfecting holiness
in the fear of God Cleanse yourself from the filth of false religion.
Now, look at Micah chapter 2, verse 12. Here the Lord God assures
us by his prophet that God's purpose of grace stands sure
and will not be altered, will not be frustrated, will not be
defeated by man's wickedness. Man's wickedness does not alter
or hinder God in any way. The Lord God, after describing
these things, says, I will surely assemble old Jacob, all of the
I love that word. All of the every one of God's
elect, he will gather the Todd and I. But the other week was
talking to you and mentioned one hundred and forty four thousand
shall be safe. A specific number. Now, that doesn't mean just one
hundred and forty four thousand will be safe. That's not what
that means. It means that there is a specific
number who shall be saved. A great multitude that no man
can number. I will surely gather the remnant
of Israel I will put them together as the sheep of bazaar as a flock
in the midst of their fold They shall make great noise by reason
of the multitude of men The breaker that's christ. Jesus has come
up before them They have broken up and have passed through The
gate and are gone out by it and their king shall pass before
them and the lord of hosts on the head of them What's that
talking about? God's going to do what he purposed.
We know that all things work together for good to them that
love God. What? All things? Even this apostasy? Even this
apostasy? If you look over in the fourth
chapter, down in verse 10, you'll see that God says you've got
to go to Babylon to be delivered from Babylon. Hang on, you'll get it in a minute.
You've got to go to Babylon to be delivered from Babylon. You've
got to go to Egypt to come up out of Egypt. You've got to fall
to be lifted up. You've got to be in bondage to
be set free. All things work together for good, even the captivity,
even the apostasy, even the darkness of the day work together for
good to them that love God, to them who are the called according
to his purpose. And His purpose is that we, who
are the objects of His grace, should at last stand before Him,
conformed to the image of His Son, Christ Jesus the Lord. All
right, here's the fourth thing. Micah chapter 3 declares a day
of universal apostasy. This is a time of evil. because
we live in a day of universal apostasy. I have deliberately chosen to
say little about these 12 verses because I think that some plain
statements made clear, stated clearly, are more important here
than much talking. Those who ought to know judgment,
who ought to lead sinners in the light, who ought to lead
men and women to salvation in Christ Jesus, are in this day
themselves instruments of ruin. Rex Bartley, any man who stands
where I'm standing tonight, Any man who stands in the pulpit
and claims to speak for God ought to know judgment. If he doesn't, he has no business
speaking. He ought to know how to lead sinners in light to Christ
and salvation by Christ, by his free grace. And those who stand
in this place and do not know God's judgment and do not know
God's gospel, destroy the souls who follow them. Look at verse
1. I said, here I pray you, O heads of Jacob, ye princes of the house
of Israel, is it not for you to know judgment? You see, when men choose prophets
to prophesy to them of wine and strong drink from Babylon, God
sends delusion. Oh, what delusion. Look at verse
2. Listen to how God describes the prophets of this day. They're
men who hate the good and love the evil. Oh, he's so sweet. He's such a nice fella. He preaches
a false gospel and a false god, but he's so nice. Hogwash. Quit
talking such nonsense. Quit talking such nonsense. That's
just not so. They pluck off their skin from
them. their flesh from off their bones,
who also eat the flesh of my people and flay their skin off
them. And they break their bones and
chop them in pieces as for the pot, as for the flesh within
the cauldron. Wow. And you thought I was tough. What what's he doing? He's comparing
every will worshiping false prophet. to men who would actually destroy
a man's flesh and eat it. As men put in the flesh in the
cauldron. Verse four. Then shall they cry
unto the Lord. But he will not hear. He will
even hate. He will even hide his face from
them at that time as they have behaved themselves ill in their
doings. Thus sayeth the Lord concerning
the prophets that make my people err. The prophets that make my
people err. The prophets that take my people
and lead them away from me. That bite with their teeth and
cry, peace. These fellows who flay your skin,
chop your bones in pieces and throw it in the witch's brood.
They cry, peace. Everything's all right. Say,
I believe in Jesus. Sign the card. Walk down here.
Kneel down here and say the sinner's prayer with me. Now, peace. They're
destroying you. They're destroying you. Read
on. And he that puteth not into their mouths, or he that puteth
not into their mouths, they even prepare war against God. Look who in 2 Thessalonians.
Paul says exactly the same thing. We live in this age of charismatic
whoopee. Everybody speaking in tongues
and performing miracles for a dollar. Just heal your bank account,
heal your body. Who's that fellow got such strange
looking hair? Is that Benny Hinn? If I claimed
to have powers he claims he has, I'd at least heal my hair. Oh, whoopee stuff. God says he
sent these fellas down to deceive. To deceive. Read verses 8, 9,
and 10 in this chapter. Then look at verse 11. And for
this cause, God shall send them a strong delusion that they should
believe a lie, that they all might be damned. who received
not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. But don't
ever stop reading there. But we're bound to give thanks
all the way to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because
God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation. I just met a couple of weeks
ago this man sitting over here, Brother Dwight Coffman. And number one reason why you're
sitting there listening to the gospel, worshiping God and enjoying it,
while the whole world's engulfed in the worship of man's will,
it's because God chose you. That's all. That's all. Still,
even in this apostate age, God has his witnesses. Look at Micah
3.8. At the time appointed, when and
where they're needed, God will raise up his witnesses. Micah
said, but truly I, I am full of power by the spirit of the
Lord and of judgment and of might to declare unto Jacob his transgressions
and to Israel his sins. What's he talking about? I'm
full of power and might by the spirit of God. to make you know
your transgressions and your sins. Every faithful preacher
does. Every faithful preacher does.
You mean he exposes men's sins? Yes. You mean he tells men the
truth about themselves? Of course he does. You see, until
you know who you are, you'll never know your need of a Savior.
Until you know what you are, you'll never know your need of
the righteousness of another. Until you know that you're lost
and fallen, ruined, doomed, damned, helpless, you'll never fall at
the throne of grace and cry for mercy. Ever. Truly, this time
is evil. The church of this age is an
apostate church. Lying in ruins like the temple
of Jerusalem after Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the temple and took
Israel into captivity. So Antichrist seems this day
to have his way everywhere. Look at verse 9, Marker 3. Hear
this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob and princes
of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment and pervert all equity. They
build up Zion with blood and Jerusalem with iniquity. The
religion is built on the slaughter of men's souls and iniquity. Their heads thereof judge for
reward. And the priests thereof teach
for hire. And the prophets thereof divine
for money. The surest way to get me not
to go somewhere. Somebody called me up and said,
what would it take to get you to come down and preach to us? I'm insulted. I'm insulted. I won't have it. I won't have it. God's prophets
don't serve him for what they can gain, and they don't serve
you for what they can gain. No faithful man does. Yet will
they learn, yet will they lean upon the Lord. Now watch this,
they judge with iniquity. They judge for reward. They teach
for hire. They divine for money. Yet will
they lean upon the Lord and say, is not the Lord among us? No
evil can come upon us. We're God's special people. Look
here how blessed we are. Why, you know God's with us.
No evil is going to happen to us. Oh, Lord God, In these dark
days, send your church prophets like Micah to feed your people
with knowledge and with understanding. But bless God, the prophecy doesn't
end there. You remember that during the
days when the people of God were brought
back to Jerusalem, there was a man, a priest in Israel named
Hilkiah. One day walking through the ruins
of the temple, just a heap of ashes, weeds everywhere, wild
beasts making their nests there. And he's going through the rubbish. Nebuchadnezzar had taken away
all the cups and platters of the Lord's
house and down into Babylon. And Hilkiah is walking through
the rubbish. And he turned over a box. He found something. He dusted it off. He said, Oh, God. Shepard! Shepard! Come tell the king I
found the book of God. And they stood and read the word
of God and gave the sense, and God sent revival. Now listen
to me. In this dark, dark day, God has
sent, is sending, and shall send revival. And I don't mean by revival what
men commonly call revival. I'm not talking about things
people point to in history and men rip their shirts open and
wallow around in the floor and scream and wave their hands and
start acting like idiots. I'm not talking about that kind
of stuff. I'm not talking about a show of emotionalism or a show of
righteousness. I'm talking about the raising
of men from the dead. I'm talking about God gathering
his elect to himself. Look at Micah chapter 4 and hear
what God promises to his people. Light shall prevail over darkness. The church of God shall prevail
over Babylon and her idolatries. He says the mountain of the house
of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains.
Babylon shall fall before God's church and God's church shall
be exalted above all idolatry. Then he tells us that people
from all nations shall flow into Zion. Multitudes shall come and
say come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the
house of the God of Jacob Multitudes from every from every place from
all the four corners of the earth. Come let's go up to the house
of God Come let's worship God. Come let's let's go hear what
God has to say We had the blessed privilege
of Seeing a little bit of that every day I was talking to some
folks out in California Brother Don Baja, he and his wife from
the Philippines, meet with some folks in their home. They didn't
get the DVDs. They're anxious to get some more.
Ten or twelve folks meeting. Gotta have more? Let's go to
the house of God! House of God? Eight or ten people?
Wherever two or three are gathered in his name. There am I in the
midst of them, he says. Then he says that he will teach
us his ways. You want to know God's ways? You find your place right there
three times a week. God will teach you His ways. Through the
faithful exposition of His Word, He'll teach us His ways. We will
walk in His paths, the old paths, the good way, wherein is rest
for your souls. And His gospel shall be proclaimed
to the ends of the earth. The law shall go forth of Zion,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. All right. Let's turn
to one more passage. I'll send you home rejoicing.
Romans chapter 11. I told you in the beginning,
portions of this prophecy can't possibly be limited to the Babylonian
captivity. Romans chapter 11 shows us plainly
that Micah is here talking about the very thing that Paul speaks
of in Romans chapter 11. Verse 26, and so, that is by
this means, by the wise arrangement of God's providence, casting
off the natural seed, casting off the physical seed of Abraham,
casting off those who would not hear his word, and so all Israel
shall be saved. As it is written, there shall
come out of Zion the deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness
from Jacob. For this is my covenant unto
them, when I shall take away their sins, as concerning the
gospel, their enemies for your sakes. But as touching the election,
these folks who cast off, they are beloved for the Father's
sakes. For the gifts and callings of
God are without repentance. Yes, this time is evil. But bless God, This is our time. This is our time. This is the
time He's given us to serve Him and proclaim His gospel for the
gathering of His elect from the four corners of the earth. And
His promise is, so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my
mouth. It shall not return unto me void,
but it shall accomplish that which I please. and it shall
prosper in the thing whereto I send it. Amen.