Bible Study: God's Trust 09.25.10

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Today is Saturday September 25, 2010 and we are reading through the Bible in a year. Today's message comes from the reading of the Book of Micah. If you would like to read today's chapters along with us here online you can Click Here to read them or copy & paste this link onto your browser: http://www.imfollowingjesus.com/bible-september-25

Today's Message: God's Trust
This past week we had an Old Paths conference at my church, it is designed to revive the Christian and get their hearts back on our ultimate authority, the Bible. The Bible is God's Word and none of it should be disregarded, yes, time changes, but the Word of God never changes, it was, is, and will always be the same. Now, there will be people who try to rewrite His Word or write books to explain it more clearly, but regardless of what they do, the Word of God never changes, it was, is, and will always be the same. Did you know that the Bible is designed so that a twelve year old can understand it? So, there are no excuses as to why an adult can not understand the Bible. Well, there is one reason why a person can not understand the Bible, that reason is, the person is not saved or has not received Jesus Christ as their Savior.

That's right, God only reveals His truths to those who are saved. Jesus said, “I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him. And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see: For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.” - Luke 10:21-24. No matter how smart you think you are unless you are saved you will never understand the Bible. Think about it. Do you think that God is going to trust an unsaved person with His Word? Would a person trust a thief with his bank account? God despises those who destroy His Word, who claim to know Him and deceive His people and those who truly do want God in their lives, but are being deceived by false gods and religion. God has a warning for all those whom have been telling lies or half truths about Him.

The Book of Micah is the thirty-third book of the Old Testament/Bible and contains seven chapters. The author of the book is Micah and it was written to the people of Judah and Israel. The purpose of the book is a call to repentance to avoid judgment, what we are to learn from the book is that God judges the oppressors of His people, those who deceive others and distort His Word. Micah was raised up to support Isaiah, and to confirm his predictions, through God, he encourages the Northern Kingdom of Samaria and the Southern Kingdom of Judah (Jerusalem) to repent. “The word of the LORD that came to Micah the Morasthite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. 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. For, behold, the LORD cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth....For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? is it not Samaria? and what are the high places of Judah? are they not Jerusalem? Therefore I will 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 foundations thereof. And all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces, and all the hires thereof shall be burned with the fire, and all the idols thereof will I lay desolate: for she gathered it of the hire of an harlot, and they shall return to the hire of an harlot.” -Micah 1:1-3,5-7. God is addressing everyone and warning them that He is going to come down to earth and destroy everything that causes His people to sin. The high places were where the Israelites were forbidden to set up altars, Jerusalem is actually on a hill and the reason it is referred to as a high place is because it was to be the only place to offer sacrifices and to worship Only God, but they were offering sacrifices and worshiping false gods there.
At the conference one of the preachers talked about how there may be some things that we are doing in life that could be hindering our communication or relationship with God to the point that He does not hear our prayers. Things like hidden sin, disloyalty, and indifference were mentioned, disloyalty is when we place other things like jobs, hobbies, and people before God. Now, there are times when a person can not get out of working on a day when they should be in church, but God knows the difference between someone who has a willing heart or has other things to do before they commit to God. Micah said, “Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom....Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me....I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.” - Micah 7:5,7,9. At times we all do things that hinder our relationship with God, is important that we, like Micah, look to the Lord and let Him guide us at all times. If we sin there is going to be some chastisement, but it is better to come forward instead of hiding it because the chastisement will be less severe that the suffering we have to deal with over the guilt.

700 years before Jesus was born, Micah was led to prophesy about Him, “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.... And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth....And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men. And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver. Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off.” - Micah 5:2,4,7-9. Micah revealed that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem and would one day be King of Israel and all His people, Jew and Gentile, and only His remnant would be able to be saved from the destruction that was about to take place. If you accepted that you are a sinner, that Jesus, the Son of God, born of a virgin, was sent here to save you, that He died, was buried, and three days later arose from the dead, and personally asked Jesus to come into your heart and save you, then you are apart of the remnant that will enjoy eternity with Jesus. “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” - Romans 10:9. Praise God!

Trust in God's Word, if you are saved, He will reveal wonderful things to you through it. Everything that I quote from and write in these devotions comes from and can be backed up by the King James Bible, but do not completely put your trust in me because I am human and I will err from time to time. We all need to join in with the Apostle Paul when he said, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.” Philippians 3:13-15. I know that I can not completely trust my own reasoning, but I can trust God's because He will always reveal the truth to those who are loyal to Him. Praise God!

Enjoy the rest of your day/night and week.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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