“He
has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To
act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8 NIV
Every
generation encounters evils that need to be confronted and addressed. And every
generation needs strong men to rise up against them.
What
are some of the things that you each have had to “rise up” against in your
life?
Men
are more and more today, tolerating what God has said in His word that we
should hate and despise.
What
are some of the things that we see in today’s culture that God has told us to
despise?
I
believe that in our country we have slipped into a media and sports induced
coma and that if it doesn’t affect us directly it doesn’t bother us! Our
schedules are so crammed full with work and personal entertainment we don’t
have time for anything more substantial or of eternal value.
Did
you know that the average American watches FIVE hours of television or over the
net every day? That’s equivalent to non-stop viewing 24 hrs a day for more than
two months straight-EVERY YEAR!!!
The
Scripture lays out three requirements that any man of God should take seriously
to heart:
“He
has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To
act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8 NIV
To
Act Justly
To
deal fairly and honestly with others, to confront evil both in ourselves and
our society, and to intervene on the behalf of the weak , vulnerable,
mistreated, and oppressed.
·
The
prophet Nathan courageously confronted King David about his adulterous affair
with Bathsheba (2nd Samuel 12:7-9)
·
Nehemiah
spoke out against those who took financial advantage of others, who were
forcing people into debt and slavery (Nehemiah 5:6-13)
·
John
the Baptist eventually lost his head for publicly condemning King Herod’s
adultery and marriage to his own brothers wife (Mark 6:17-18)
·
When
God’s temple was being corrupted by profiteering vendors, Jesus upended the
moneychangers tables and drove them from the temple (Matthew 21:12-13
·
Other
examples: Martin Luther-was ordered to confess his “errors” in his thesis about
the state of the church in his day; William Wilberforce-once a slave trading
and owning captain and terrible person all around fought for years in English
Parliament to stop the ownership and trading of slaves; Dietrich Bonhoeffer-broadcast
a message called “Christ Is Our Fuhrer” during the rise and height of Adolf
Hitler’s Germany, while only half the message was originally delivered,
Bonhoeffer refused to remain silent while his countrymen were being
slaughtered, even to the point of his own eventual torture and death, in his
book The Cost of Discipleship he said, “When Jesus calls a man, he bids him
come and die.”
What
factors cause men to be passive and avoid standing up against evil?
It
is my belief that the rights and liberties of our children and grandchildren
depend on our willingness to sacrifice in our day on their behalf. One
generation’s apathy and cowardice can squander and erase what the sweat and
blood of previous generations have secured.
To
Love Mercy
To
discern the physical and spiritual needs of others, and to represent the hands
and heart of Christ to people who desperately need help, compassion, and
deliverance from evil and injustice.
Being
a Christian once meant faithfully and boldly representing Christ, even when it
came at great risk or being unpopular.
It
is my belief that too many man have redefined being Christlike to mean “nice
and quiet”. By that definition Christ wasn’t always Christlike.
Christ
was known to confront people with their sin; at times raising his voice in
righteous anger-following Jesus is now counter-cultural.
Whether
it’s acceptable to our tastes or not, men are called by God to love the world
(the people for whom Christ died) in the way He loves it, and to hate the world
(its sin and rebellion against Him) in the way He hates it. (James 4:4)
·
How
does showing mercy for the hurting go hand in hand with fighting for justice?
·
Galatians
1:10 “Am I now trying to win the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to
please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of
Christ”
·
“Morality
cannot be legislated, but behavior can be regulated. Judicial decree may not
change the heart, but they can restrain the heartless.”-Martin Luther King
·
Can
we really influence people, even non-believers on matters of justice and human
decency?
·
Helping
the poor has always set Christians apart, what can we do locally to help our
needy and poor on a regular basis?
·
Read
Psalm 82:3-4 and Isaiah 58:10
To
Walk Humbly With Your God
To
live a circumspect and selfless life before Him devoted to Him, and to his
Word. Exercising our faith and love in a way that actively, consistently honors
Him and His lordship.
·
What
ways can we actively show God’s love?
·
Our
purpose for fighting the good fight is to glorify the name of Christ
·
Charles
Spurgeon once said, “Fearless of all consequences, you must do the right. You
will need the courage of a lion unhesitatingly to pursue a course which shall
turn your best friend into your fiercest foe; but for the love of Jesus you
must thus be courageous. For the truth’s sake, to hazard reputation and
affection is such a deed that to do it constantly you will need a degree of
moral principle which only the Spirit of God can work in you; yet turn not your
back like a coward, but play the man. Follow right manfully in your Master’s
steps, for he has traversed this rough way before you.”
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