Are you past the point of weary? Is your burden
weighty? Is it all too much to carry? Let me
tell you about my Jesus. Do you feel an empty
feeling? Does shame turn all these feelings?
You're next with personal healing. Let me tell
you about my Jesus. He makes a way where there
ain't no way. God is love from an empty grave.
Ain't no sinner that he can't save. Let me tell
you about my Jesus. May the Christ grow in me
But we can't learn much about me Let me tell
you about my Jesus So as you know, we've been
working through the book of Judges, and last
week we soared right on into chapter 17, and
we did it without much history or background.
So we're going to take a moment and look at Judges
chapter 17, and we're going to look at it from
a little bit of historical and geographical,
in case you don't already know. So here is the
truth. In the very first section, it talks about
how this was a man who lived in Ephraim. So the
region of Ephraim would have been well known
to the people who ever read the text. When we're
reading the text, we want to think about context.
What would the people who have first read this,
that this was first written to, what would they
have known about what they were reading? So we
need to know that in order to know what they
might think about what they were reading. So
the country of Ephraim, that area there inside
the promised land, was well known. Right nearby
there was a place called Shechem. That name might
sound kind of familiar to you. You've heard it
some. Maybe if you go back in Bible teaching
or things like that. And maybe not. And if that's
okay, if it doesn't, then that's okay. I'm going
to explain it to you. Does anybody know who was
buried at Shechem? By this time, when this story
is taking place, everybody would have been a
famous person. Everybody would have known he
was buried at Shechem. Anybody know? Off the
top of your head. Take a stab at it? No. I don't
think so. You think so? Tony Tate thinks Abraham
may also. That's not who I was thinking of, but
I was thinking somebody in a little bit more
recent history to this passage of Scripture.
I'm going to look that up real quick. See how
this is how easy it is. Somebody else could have
done this on my trivia question. No, he was not.
I'm sorry. Abraham was not buried at Shechem,
according to Google. We've been taught by Google
in our service today. I didn't think it was,
but I wasn't sure. Say it again. Was it Joseph
as well? No, I don't think so. No. OK, so Joseph's
bones were brought out of Egypt, right? And so
may have been buried at Shechem. And this guy,
very famous guy at Shechem, said the following
words. And since I say it, you're going to know
who it is. He said, as for me and my house. Joshua,
right? And then when he died, they buried him
there. So I was looking for that context because
the people in the book of Judges that are living
in Micah's day, this guy is living not that far
away. So guess what else is not that far away?
Shiloh. So what's in Shiloh in this day and age?
The tabernacle. What's the tabernacle? The big
tent that they built? God gave the specific design
for it. They worshiped at Shiloh or at the tabernacle
all throughout the wilderness. And then it settled
in Shiloh. So in this day, when all this is happening
in the household of Micah, the tabernacle is
within walking distance. OK, that's important
because as people are reading this, they're going
like, well, why didn't he just go worship in
Shiloh? It's a famous place. Also, Shechem was
the place in which Joshua led the Israelites
to recommitment. So they're all supposed to say,
and he said these famous words, which was, if
you will not follow the Lord, if you would go
and follow some other God, some idolatrous God,
then go do that. Don't promise to follow God
and not do it, but just follow God. And he said,
as for me and my house, we will follow the Lord.
That's all Shechem. And so they know that. So
as I was thinking about this passage of Scripture
myself then, I was challenged by the fact. that
there within walking distance was Shiloh and
the tabernacle, and all of the houses in this
area were slipping into idolatry, Micah being
no solitary example. Sometimes it happens that
in the very place that God has gotten great glory,
and I could mean in the church building possibly,
right, amongst us, or in church buildings across
the country, that people slip into whittling
away at the sovereignty of God. That's the title
of the sermon today. fall into a little mixed
synergy where I'm worshiping God, but I'm also
worshiping false gods, fall into worshiping something
that's not God at all. And so as we look at the
sermon today, we're going to look at a few pathways
by which that happens and make sure it's not
happening amongst us. Also, there is a geographical
nature to Ephraim that everybody knows if you're
reading this text for the first time back in
the book of Judges. It's a hill country, a lot
of steep ridges. Valleys, forests, scattered
villages. No big towns, really, like what we're
familiar with. Even Jerusalem and like that.
So this country would have been a lot of little
places. And these little places were relatively
isolated. Which means they were not ruled over
well by kings. Right? And so these people survived
that era where the Philistines were persecuting
them. And before that, others we read about as
we were studying the book of Judges. In part
because of that reason. They were little towns.
And by the time the alarm went up, they would
go run and hide in the hills or the caves or
whatever, and then they would come back out after
those who were persecuting them were gone. People
often lived independently from government oversight.
So even if the nation had been truly faithful
and at large a king was there or something, and
they'd been truly faithful when the judges were
ruling, they didn't necessarily fall under the
auspices of that king. So today we've got a situation
where we say, like, my house, my rules, I'm in
charge, I'm going to make the decisions the best
way I know how. And a similar thing was happening
for them, and that's a perfectly okay thing if
the rules are submitted to God. But if you're
making your own rules, or someone else is coming
up with rules, and you're adopting them for your
household, and they're not God's rules, then
it's not okay. But you can see how if you lived
in a region where there's nobody else around.
So small churches in small towns may be the only
church. Or a church in a neighborhood in East
Toledo where the other churches around us may
or may not be godly. And I'm not judging any
church. That's not my role in life in general.
But the bottom line is, this is where God has
been glorified in us. And we need to be aware
that it is possible that even in this place,
even as we gather, that it would be possible
that we could have something that does not glorify
God. a pathway that whittles away instead at
God's sovereignty and does not expect God to
be in charge. And then we get this thought. In
those days, there was no king in Israel, and
everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
In the church, it is Jesus. Separation of feelings
and being free to choose often breeds independence.
And then spiritually, when people become isolated
from God's people, so they stop going to church,
they stop being in a godly church, they stop
being in Bible studies, stop being under sermons,
that kind of thing. Or if they get their own
ideas, maybe they're still coming to church,
but they got their own ideas of the way things
are supposed to be done. Then you become isolated
from God's authority, which is not a good thing.
They become more likely to create a God of their
own standards. Not a good thing. Or to think
God can't quite reach into their life. Not a
good thing. In the day in question, as I mentioned,
Shiloh was within walking distance, and Micah
nonetheless appoints a priest in his household,
first from his family, and then in the text that
we're going to read today, we're going to see
that he appoints someone more qualified, theoretically,
but we'll look at that. This makes Micah's actions
even more deliberate. In other words, he's not
specifically ignoring God. He's putting God in
a box. He's making God out to be what he wants
God to be, inventing a version of God. That does
not fit what God has already told them. So, here's
a summary for you. The hill country of Ephraim
was a place of great spiritual heritage. This
was it. Shiloh was there. God's presence would
settle on the tabernacle. The country was rugged,
so the people were independent. They were strong
and firm and found their own way, so to speak.
God's true worship in Shiloh was available to
them, but... Micah's problem wasn't that he couldn't
find God. It was that he preferred a God he could
manage. And that's what we're going to see in
the text today. Not far from there, Shechem was
the place of Joshua's recommitment of the people.
And it was where he was eventually buried. All
right. So now grab your Bibles, if you would.
And we're going to go back to the book of Judges.
Go to Judges chapter 17. Thank you very much
for being with me today. That little hoot, holler,
amen, reminds us this is God's word. What I read
from the Bible, I did not write. God inspired
it, and we're just going to read what he says.
We're going to begin reading in verse 5. Remember
that he has already created a graven image against
Scripture, created a carved image made of pure
silver against Scripture, and he's going to go
on from there. He had a shrine. He made an ephod,
a household idol. So basically he made all the
kind of same things that would be in the tabernacle
in Shiloh. And he installed one of his sons to
be his priest. In those days, there was no king
in Israel and everyone did whatever seemed right
to him. There was a young man, a Levite from
Bethlehem in Judah, who was staying within the
clan of Judah. The man left the town of Bethlehem
in Judah. to stay wherever he could find a place.
So basically, he went sojourning throughout the
Promised Land, going, I'm going to wind up wherever
I'm going to wind up. He didn't have an initial
plan. On his way, he came to Micah's home in
the hill country of Ephraim, which now we know
something about if we didn't before. Where do
you come from? Micah asked him. He answered him,
I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I'm
going to stay wherever I can find a place. Micah
replied, stay with me. and be my father and priest,
and I will give you four ounces of silver a year,
along with your clothing and provisions. So the
Levite went in and agreed to stay with the man,
and the young man became one of his sons. So
first he took a priest from his sons, and now
he's taking another priest who's got a little
bit better pedigree. Verse 12, Micah consecrated
the Levite. That word consecrated means to set
him apart to be holy to God's service. Now Micah
doesn't necessarily have a right to do that.
Scripture shows ways that should be done and
he didn't do it the way scripture says necessarily.
He consecrated the Levite and the young man became
his priest and lived in Micah's house. Then Micah
said, now I know that the Lord will be good to
me because a Levite has become my priest. So
I told you we're gonna talk about pathways by
which in the very place. that God is supposed
to be glorified and honored, we might wind up
not doing that. Okay? And I'm calling that, using
the phrase today, whittling away God's sovereignty.
So whittling is when you take a block of wood
or any material and you cut off little pieces
of it until, in theory, you get a shape. You
can cut off pieces of it without getting a shape.
That's pretty much what I do when I whittle because
I'm not very artistic when it comes to whittling.
But you take your knife and you cut off a little
bit, shape it into whatever you shape it into.
But we're... not supposed to be trying to whittle
away at the sovereignty of God. We haven't figured
that out already. And that's what Micah is doing
in this text. So we're going to look at him as
our example of kind of what not to do. First
of all, notice that familiar names can hide false
worship. You can say words like baptism. You
can say sanctification. You can say sacerdotalism.
You can say theology. all kinds of things like
that. He liked the word Levite because the Bible
says Levites, priests are supposed to be Levites.
And so now he's got a priest who's a Levite.
He liked the word Bethlehem. Bethlehem is an
important word. It's got a lot of history to
it. And so he's got a Levite from Bethlehem.
That's really saying something. He used religious
language, including talking about blessings.
He talked about being a holy man, a follower
of God. And people can talk about being holy
and followers of God and actually not be that
at all. So be careful. Just because a guy's got
a microphone and talks about Jesus or God or
Scripture or even reads the Bible doesn't actually
mean necessarily that he is a godly person or
that you as godly men or women or young people
should fall in with the teaching. Everything
can appear biblical and pieces may even land
on biblical truth. Like we could say, for example,
You should get baptized after you get saved.
And then in the same paragraph or a few paragraphs
later, we can talk about how it's perfectly fine
for you to live together outside marriage. And
because we talk about getting baptized after
you're getting saved. That adds credence to the
fact that it might be okay to live together outside
marriage, but it's not okay to live together
outside marriage. Scripture is very clear on
that. So be careful about a person who spouts
a little bit of what God says and then uses it
as leverage to prove that they are holy and you
should listen to something else that they say.
At its heart, it will always remain contrary
to God. And, therefore, it will appeal to your
sinful man, your natural man, instead of your
faithful godly self. Worse, it begins to whittle
away at the sovereignty of God. Authenticity
in your faith is determined by obedience. Will
you do what God tells you to do or not? If you
say you believe in God, but you will not do what
God tells you to do, either you or God are a
liar, and I'm going to go with you. Do you believe?
Not just do you believe that God exists. Micah
believed that. And Micah believed it and began
to use all the preachy words, even to the point
that he was putting money on the line. And he
submitted himself to somebody outside his household.
But it wasn't godly. Many churches, teachers,
books, influencers, people sending you emails,
etc., etc., Facebook, YouTubers, right? All of
them might appear. Godly might appear biblical.
Familiar language is not the same as biblical
truth. Ariana only watches kids YouTube pretty
much and restricts herself to that because it's
really easy to drift into other things. And she's
got a number of YouTubers that she likes to watch
who are Christians who go to church and they
talk about church and they talk about doing godly
things. And we had this conversation, did we
not? Just because they talk about going to church,
just because they talk about godly things, that
does not make them godly people. And so you have
to be discerning because if they go to teach
you something that is not godly, you'll be in
trouble if you suck it up because they appear
godly. Jesus said it this way in Matthew chapter
15. He said, this people honors me with their
lips, but their heart is far away from me. But
in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines
the precepts of men. It's about heart condition.
You're looking for. to be. You want to be a person
whose heart is in line with the Lord. And if
you want to be a person whose heart is in line
with the Lord, then you want to surround yourself
with people whose heart is in line with the Lord.
And if they would teach you worldly things or
buy into worldly, and by the way, just as a little
side note, by the time you get to the Bible doesn't
say this is sin, you've probably already gone
too far. Because if you have to use the Bible
to verify whether or not it's sin, when you,
as 2 Corinthians 2 says, are supposed to have
the mind of Christ, the question is, why did
you get to the point of looking in the Bible
to verify that what you were doing was not sin
before you realized it was sin? These people
honored God with their lips. They talked about
God. They preached. They got their whole living.
They lived in the temple for crying out loud.
But their heart was far away from him. That can
happen. 2 Corinthians 11, Paul's writing to the
Corinthians, and he says, speaking first person
from his point of view, he says, For I am jealous
for you with a godly jealousy, for I betrothed
you to one husband, so that to Christ I might
present you a pure virgin. He was saying, church,
I connected you to Jesus, not to me or anyone
else, and now I am jealous over you. He says,
but I am afraid that. As the serpent deceived
Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led
astray from simplicity and purity of devotion
to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another
Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive
a different spirit which you have not received,
or a different gospel which you have not accepted,
you bear this beautifully. In other words, people
just keep right on. Somebody comes and talks
to them about things that are not godly, and
they're like... It's okay if they do whatever.
It's okay if they say whatever. I'm perfectly
fine with it. I'm not going to stand up for what
Jesus says. That's not godly. That's not what
God called us to be as the church. We are the
body of Christ in the world. And when the world
is going the wrong way, we have a responsibility
to speak up and say, hey, you're going the wrong
way. If nothing else, out of love. But that church,
the church in Corinth, had become a people that
they were fine with it. They were putting up
with it. Are you putting up with it? And then
a little later in that same chapter, he says,
no wonder. And you could say, no wonder they
put up with it. No wonder they were deceived.
For even Satan disguises himself as an angel
of light. Listen, it is the tactic of the enemy
to use church words, to use churchiness, to use
godliness, or to attack the church. I'll never
forget when a local church became very big and
they used a certain motto. They said, we're the
church for people who hate church. You see the
language? And people flocked. Because why? Because
people hate church. but they want to go to church
because they know God wants them to go to church,
but they hate church, right? So people speak
the words, but they aren't having the heart that
God has given them. 2 Timothy 3, Paul is now
writing to Timothy, and he says, here's what
you do when this is going on. He says that you
should hold firm. Avoid such men as these. He
said, They, these people, were holding a form
of godliness, although they had denied its power.
They were not godly. And then he says, avoid
such men as these. God is God. God alone is God.
God alone is sovereign. You want to hear what
I have to say about God? Let me tell you about
God. He's bigger, more powerful. There's more
to be known about him than you or I will ever
know. And yet we can know him intimately through
Jesus Christ. God will not send you to hell.
If you choose not to be in a relationship with
God by the time that time comes, you'll go to
hell because you chose to go to hell. But he's
God. And he did set up a place apart from him
because it wouldn't be right to make everybody
spend eternity with him, everybody that doesn't
want to. And so he set up a place that is apart
from him where you can go if you choose to. You
won't want to be there once you get there, but
you can go there if you want. There are people
who are speaking churchy words, God words, biblical
words, big words, sometimes small words like
love other times. And they're redefining what
those things mean and speaking from a heart that
does not belong to God. And you don't want anything
to do with it. The second thing in here to see
is that open doors are not always God's doors.
Remember that guy, that Levite priest? He left
Bethlehem and he said, I'm going to go wherever
I may go. I'm just going to go wherever I may
go. See, he just opened up the opportunity, and
then he wandered through Micah's town, and Micah
said, oh, I get the chance to hire a priest.
Basically, the Levite simply wants a place, and
he follows opportunity rather than calling. There
is a commitment level that involves your calling
where you're meant to be, and you're going to
suffer to be there. You're going to lack financially
to be there. You're going to lack relationally
to be there. Someone is not going to like that
you're there. And then God is going to fill you
up with the kind of power that changes the world.
Because that's the nature. In our church, we
have team leaders who are called to lead a team.
And they suffer. Sometimes they only have one
or two members. For sometimes months or years
at a time, they have one or two team members
and nobody else to help them. Or they have team
members who come and join their team. And they
ask them to do stuff. And they're, yeah, I'll
take care of it. And then they don't. And it
falls back on them. They suffer to be doing what
it is that God has called them to be doing. And
I'm not bemoaning my situation, but I understand
that I suffer. to be able to be standing before
you today to preach this message. And I know
you've suffered to be able to be here to hear
this message, some of you. Micah follows convenience
rather than scripture. God's will is revealed
primarily through the word of God and his presence.
And I submit to you that it's rarely just one
without the other. If the Holy Spirit tells you
to do something that is contrary to scripture,
that's not the Holy Spirit because he inspired
this book. And if you read this book and find
something you're supposed to do and the Holy
Spirit is saying that's not for you, you better
listen. Because you'll suffer for nothing. There's
no reason to suffer and you'll suffer anyway.
It's never just one or the other. It's not just
through favorable circumstances. Oh, I see, I
can go there, our situation will be better, this
will work better, this will get this done. I
see how I can finally solve that problem I've
been dealing with for 20 years. I've got an open
door there. But if God says no, it's no. God
does not speak to us. Through favorable circumstances,
he speaks to us through his word and his presence.
Look at the book of Jonah. Jonah had become a
very powerful prophet. He spoke in many prophecies
on God and never one of them went wrong. And
God tells him to go to Nineveh and say, go there
and tell them I'm going to destroy that huge
city. Huge city. One of the biggest cities in
existence at that time. Go there and tell them
I'm going to destroy. He didn't say go there
and tell them I'm going to destroy their city
if they don't repent. He just said, go there
and tell them I'm going to destroy their city
for all the wicked things they've done. And Jonah
didn't want to go. He didn't want to go because
there was an army from that city that was not
that far from his homeland. And he thought they
might wipe out the promised land, wipe out the
Israelites or take them over, rule them. He didn't
want that. So he didn't want to go to Nineveh.
So he says to God, I'm not going to go. And he
jumps on a boat and tries to go to the other
side of the world. And then there's the fish.
And then he's on the beach. And then he's in
the city and he preaches the message. And he
does not tell them the message of Jonah to the
Ninevites was not repent or be destroyed. That
was not the message that God told him to take,
right? He just went there and said, you're going
to be destroyed. In three days, God's going to
destroy this entire city. The reason Jonah didn't
want to go is because he feared that the Ninevites
would repent hearing that message and that God
would forgive them. And that's what happens.
They repent hearing the message, and God forgives
them. Now, they do eventually drift back into
sin 150, 100, 150 years later, and they are destroyed.
But then, and the army, because of the repentance,
the army did turn back and not destroy Israel.
So it all worked out for God's people in the
end. But the bottom line is, Jonah refused to
do what God wanted him to do because it didn't
line up with what he wanted from God. Is that
what we're doing? In Acts 16, beginning of verse
6 to 7, it says, They passed through Phrygian
and Galatian region, having been forbidden by
the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. The
Holy Spirit said, no, you can't go there. You
can't do that. Now, there was no wall. It wasn't
a flood. The roads didn't wash out and reduce
the opportunity. It wasn't stormy. So they said,
we'll wait and go tomorrow. Right. God didn't
reduce the opportunity. The Holy Spirit just
said, no, you are not going to go there and speak
the word in Asia. Then it says after they came
to Mysia, so they went on and continued the journey,
but not that way because God told them no. They
were trying to go into Bithynia and the spirit
of Jesus did not permit them. No flood, no traffic
jams, no cars broken down, no health concerns
or relationship difficulties. You stand up until
midnight trying to talk out your marriage stuff,
right? None of that. Just the spirit said no.
A vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man
of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him
and saying, come over to Macedonia and help us.
When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought
to go to Macedonia, concluding that God had called
us to preach the gospel to them. You see, God
is actively involved in telling the church what
to do. Still, to this day. And yes, it is through
his word and through the presence of his Holy
Spirit. Proverbs 3, of course, maybe just a hint
familiar once I start to say it, says, Trust
in the Lord with all your heart. Do not lean
on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge
him, and he will make your path straight. See,
I said open doors are not always God's doors.
We are given the mind of Christ, 2 Corinthians
chapter 2. It's our responsibility to listen.
And sometimes God might take you through an open
door because he's trying to take you somewhere
completely else. And so if you go through the
door and go, oh, this was God, and then you get
there and you're stuck there and you won't go
to the other place, this is God, but I don't
want anything to do with God. That doesn't make
any sense. We have to be willing. We have to
be willing to go wherever. What if God says,
go stand at the door and knock and wait and see
if they open? And he's got you there a day, a
week, a month, a year, 10 years. Oh, that could
never happen. Oh, really? Because that's exactly
what God has Jesus doing. Behold, I stand at
your heart's door and knock. And he opens the
door, I'll come in and sup with him and he with
me, right? And do you believe that there are
people on whose heart's door Jesus is knocking
now and they're not letting him in? So could
God not send you to knock on a door that's not
yet open for the rest of your life? Because that's
what he's doing with Jesus. And if you're a Christian,
I submit to you, it's very possible that the
door that you see is open, that you think is
God's door, may not always be God's door. And
so you are responsible to get your direction
and your leadership from the Lord, for which
you will need a fully sovereign God. A God who
is fully in charge of everything. The God of
heaven who created everything. A sovereign God.
We whittle away God's sovereignty until we think
we can control God. That's what we do. In Judges
17, Micah isn't trying to reject God. He doesn't
say there is no God. He doesn't say I will worship
Baal or Asherah or any of those others. He's
just rejecting God the way God is. He's trying
to manage God. He's thinking, Something like
this. I have an idol. I have a shrine. I have
a Levite. Therefore, God must bless me. Now I
know the Lord will prosper me, he says in verse
13. His confidence is not in God's character.
It's in his own religious formula and the successful
application of that formula to get what he wants
from God. He has reduced the sovereign Lord of
heaven to someone who must respond. because Micah
has followed the right ritual. He's not questioning
whether God exists. Instead, he's working a program
to achieve what he perceives as a logical outcome.
That is manipulation. It does not work when you're
dealing with people, and it works even less when
you're dealing with God. This, in a lot of ways,
looks like magic, or sorcery, or voodoo. Biblically,
prayer to God asks a sovereign God, recognize
that God alone is in charge, asks a sovereign
God to accomplish his will. Jesus prayed, your
will, not my will be done. We pray your will
be done on earth as it is in heaven. That's what
we're led to do. Magic says, if I perform the
right actions, I can guarantee the outcome. Micah
doesn't want to have a relationship with God.
And you and I know the only way is to have a
relationship with God. What he wants is a ritual
that will get him what he wants from God. He's
moving from submission to God into control. He's
not worshiping. He's manipulating. Today, it
looks like this. Christians say, if I tithe,
God has to make me wealthy. If I pray this prayer
enough times, God has to answer. If I attend
church every week, faithfully serve or give or
whatever, God owes me protection. If I use the
right words, the right declaration or enough
faith, I can guarantee God's response. Even we
say God is merciful and kind and he wants what's
best for me. And so I know he'll make it work
out whatever I do. Those ideas treat God less
like a loving father and more like a force to
be manipulated. Those ideas treat God as if he
has no personality, no character, no depth. Flip
a button, get what you want. Those ideas say,
if I put this together and this together, I'll
get this reaction. We have a little object lesson.
All right, I'm going to borrow you for a second.
And I need one more young person. All right,
you can't see, you might need to be able to see.
We're going to conduct a little experiment here.
I will turn this back on when I walk away. All
right. All right. Climb in the back, back here.
Hold on. Okay. Take this. Okay. So I want you
to put that in there. Hold it. I want you to
pour that in there. Now, when it starts to react,
you need to pour it. All at once. All at once.
Pour it. Okay. All right. Raise your hand without
saying anything out loud if you know. Raise your
hand if you know what was in those two glass
jars. One, two, three, four. I think we know
it's good enough. All right. So we think we know.
The bottom line is some of us think we know because
we've seen that experiment before. Now, after
I tell you, you've all seen it. And then from
this point forward, you will all know. If you
mix those two things together. That's the kind
of reaction that you get. OK, so it's baking
soda and vinegar. That's all it is. You find
it in your kitchen or your pantry. Right. Now,
I also put in a dot of dish soap because that
helps make it bubbly. Right. But it will react.
The ratio of exactly what to put in there is
a half a cup, roughly, of vinegar and a tablespoon,
roughly, of baking soda to get that kind of reaction.
If you go more vinegar and the same amount of
baking soda, the reaction will be different.
If you go less vinegar and the same amount of
baking soda, the reaction will be different.
Neither one of those two ways probably work as
well. My point is you now know how to combine
those things to make that kind of reaction. Is
everybody listening? Caleb, did you get it? What
two things? Baking soda and vinegar. Caleb knows
how to make that kind of reaction. In our world
where we live, That is kind of the way things
work, right? We put these two things together
as I've been working on my fast. I've learned
a lot of like how to make things that are purely
vegetables. Put this together, this together.
Oh, it tastes pretty good, right? And I've been
learning a lot. And so the next time I go to
do the fast, I've already got a bunch of recipes
and things that I can use. The point is, while
we think logically, we put these two things together,
we get this reaction. That is not how people
work. Have you ever given somebody a compliment
and it actually didn't go very well? You try
to say something nice to them, a compliment.
Maybe it's because they were already upset. Maybe
it's because you had already offended them. Maybe
it's because they thought you were being sarcastic
or they didn't like the tone of voice that you
used. Come on. Think about it. Have you ever
given somebody a compliment? You meant to be
kind, but they didn't respond very well? That's
because people are not chemicals. Character is
much deeper than just if I put this in, put this
in, I get this result. It's not two plus two
is four with people, right? It's not that way
with God either. Even though the Bible says we
reap what we sow, that does not mean we can sow
just to control what we reap. Because God is
looking for your heart condition. He's looking
for your character to be in line with his character.
A child cannot manipulate their father into doing
something by memorizing the right phrase. A husband
can't preserve their marriage simply by repeating
the phrase over and over again every morning,
I love you, if they ignore their wife the rest
of the day. That's not how that works. Relationships
flourish through love and trust. not formulas.
Which is why when you find fault with a loved
one, you say, well, I want to hear what you have
to say, but I don't like the way you said it.
It's a breach on both sides. If it was said incorrectly,
then that was wrong. But the person who is not
receiving it, though it was said incorrectly,
also wrong. Because words are just words. Hearts
are hearts. And yes, words can make your heart
dirty. But your heart is your heart, and it can
drive your language, and it can drive your understanding
of language. So if somebody compliments you,
just take it as a compliment. If they meant it
as snarky, ignore them. Take it as a compliment
anyway. You win, right? Micah has reduced the
sovereign Lord of heaven to someone who must
respond because he followed a certain formula,
and that's not who God is. God has never invited
us or the Israelites or anyone since the beginning
of time. into a system of religious mechanics,
which means essentially there are no rules. The
Bible doesn't say rules. There are precepts,
statements of God that tell you what you can
do and what you should not, but they are not
there to be a set of rules to be broken or not
broken. If you go like, well, I can just sin
against God. He'll forgive me because I broke
this one sin. There's a problem with your heart.
You should be saying. I will not because I love
him. I can't bear to break God's heart. Not after
all that he's done for me. God has invited us
into a covenant relationship. Someone receives
an email that comes in their email box and it
appears to come from their bank. The logo is
right. The colors are right. Better click here.
There might be a false charge. But if the email
is counterfeit and you click it, you're in trouble.
Satan rarely... invents new religions. Actually,
what he usually does is counterfeits the real
thing. If they're planting churches all over
the world that are not following God, why do
we need to plant a church that has Satan's name
on the wall? He's already got plenty. Isaiah
46 says it this way, Remember the former things
long past? For I am God, and there is no other.
I am God, and there is no one like me. Declaring
the end from the beginning. And from ancient
times, things which have not been done, saying,
my purpose will be established and I will accomplish
all my good pleasure. Daniel writes it this way.
All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted
as nothing, but he does according to his will,
that's God, in the host of heaven and among the
inhabitants of earth. And no one can ward off
his hand or say to him, what have you done? In
Romans 9, Paul writes it this way. On the contrary,
who are you, O man, who answers back to God?
The thing molded will not say to the molder,
Why did you make me like this, will it? Or does
not the potter have a right over the clay to
make from the same lump one vessel for honorable
use and another for common use? Paul is saying,
God can do with you whatever God wants to do.
Do not whittle the sovereignty of God. Jesus
prayed and led us to pray, Your kingdom come,
your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
In 1 Samuel 15, after Saul, they had a great
victory and then they were supposed to destroy
everything and they kept some of it back. And
then Saul lodged it. He said, well, we kept some
of it back to sacrifice to God. Samuel says this.
He says, has the Lord as much delight in burnt
offerings and sacrifice as in obeying the voice
of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice
and to heed better than the fat of rams. Listen,
this is what he's saying. God's sovereignty means
God says it, you do it. Sovereignty means he's
in charge, he's sovereign, he's king. And in
the great blessing today, there is a fourth point
in the text. And this one is near and dear to
my heart. So if you're falling asleep right now,
shake your head. A priest you hire will eventually
tell you what you want to hear. And you can imagine
why that's near and dear to my heart. While I
was writing this sermon, I had a vision about
a small town restaurant. In a town of about 400
people, one stoplight in a restaurant is on the
corner. Young family decided, hey, we want to
run a restaurant. It's always been our dreams.
We bought the corner, old corner store. It used
to be a store, and they turned it into a restaurant.
They polled all their neighbors and all their
friends about what kind of food to serve, and
they served the kind of food that people wanted.
The restaurant was solid. They had children.
They raised their children. The children began
to run the restaurant. While that was still going
on, a lot of the people who come to the restaurant,
they got older. change their diets you know happens
something when you get older and they started
rumors started circulating they were not satisfied
with the menu at the restaurant anymore and so
they changed the menu while the kids were still
coming up and still taking over they changed
the menu and it sparked business back up and
people started coming again and it was good but
it was mostly older people coming people that
had requested change them and now the young kids
come up now the other people that had had kids
their young kids come it's a whole new town right
a whole another generations in the town They
don't want the old people food. They want the
salt back. You know what I'm saying? They want
their salt back. And rumor circulates they're
going to go to the next town or go wherever,
right? Because the food is not right there. So
the restaurant changed its food again. And over
two generations, the restaurant changed all their
food four times. And they survived. And the restaurant
kept having customers. And the family kept paying
bills. And the town kept having a restaurant.
In this story, Levi becomes Micah's employee.
Instead of representing God to Micah, he represents
Micah to himself. He tells Micah what he wants
to hear. Listen to me. Eventually, the priest
serves the one paying him. Believe it or not,
this is not what you want. And I want you to
hear me right now when I say, I don't work for
you. I don't work for you. That is to say then
that the pastor, the preacher, the teacher is
called to say what God would have. I'm going
to say it this way. I am called to say what God
would have me to say and in the way that God
would have me to say it. And you might want the
sermon shorter, but I'm here to tell you right
now there's somebody also in this room who wants
it longer. You might want the room cooler, but
there's somebody in this room would be covering
up a blanket if we did that. You might want the
music quieter. Somebody else wants it louder
so they can't hear themselves sing. What you
want does not matter. What God wants matters.
Paul wrote to Timothy this way, solemnly I charge
you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus,
who is to judge the living and the dead, and
by his appearing and his kingdom, preach the
word, be ready in season and out of season, reprove,
rebuke, exhort with great patience and instruction,
for the time will come when they will not endure
sound doctrine. But wanting to have their ears
tickled, they will accumulate for themselves
teachers in accordance to their own desires and
will turn away their ears from the truth and
will turn aside to myths. Today, you must decide
not to be one who will turn aside to myths. Don't
go after the shorter sermon. Don't go after.
The person who never stumbles over their words.
Don't go after the room that's the perfect temperature.
Don't go after the perfect kind of music. Don't
go after the church culture that you like, that
you think you'll fit into best. You go where
you will hear from the God of heaven and listen
with all your might. Because God is bending down
to listen to you. Why are you not bending down
to listen to him? Paul wrote to the church of
Galatia, which is really many churches this way.
He says, am I now seeking the favor of men or
of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I
were trying to please men, I would not be a bondservant
of Christ. Whenever we only seek teachers who
affirm our preferences rather than confront us
with God's word, we have begun choosing our own
priest. And that is a sure road to whittling
away at God's sovereignty, even in the very place
where it has been so clearly seen. Do you not
understand that you are only here today because
God did miracles to make it happen? Not just
the miracle of your birth or the miracle of being
born again, which is a necessary miracle, but
also the miracle of this building and the miracle
of these chairs and the miracle of the work and
the miracle that is my salvation and others who
serve in this church, their salvation. And the
money that came together to do the work, miracles.
You can walk in the basement and see a miracle
the size of a refrigerator because when this
building could not have heat and there was no
way we could get heat in the building, we were
worried about breaking pipes. The Mississippi
Baptist Convention found, just by some miracle,
found a brand new boiler sitting in a warehouse
that they could buy for $80 ,000, the kind of
money that we could never pay. And they donated
it. And then a businessman put together a group
of guys, a Christian businessman. put together
a group of guys who came and installed it so
we could have heat. When all the money we had
in the bank was probably $10 ,000 to $15 ,000.
That's all we had. We got an $80 ,000 boiler
and a $40 ,000 install for free. When it was
going to be $26 ,000 to get the electric, we
paid $2 ,600 because God intervened and did a
miracle. When we couldn't get the water on after
12 weeks of trying, God moved the former deputy
mayor into the... being in charge of the water
division. And when we called him, they came to
install the water the next day. Well, that same
deputy mayor was the guy who decided to give
us this building when he was working under a
different mayor. It's been going on for a while,
folks. We are sitting here today, listening today,
preaching today because of the miracles of God.
You're alive today, though you may not know it
because God saved your life from a car accident
last week, last month or last year. God killed
your cancer before it could take you out last
week, last month, or last year. We are the product
of miracles, and a sovereign God is the kind
of God that does miracles. And if you want a
God that's not sovereign over your life, then
you want a God that does not miraculously intervene.
And if you'd have had that over the last ten
years, you'd be gone now. To hell! Whenever we
only seek teachers that affirm our preferences
rather than confront us with God's word, we have
begun choosing our own high priest. That brings
us to our conclusion. And Judges 17 may seem
like it's about idolatry. I mean, it's definitely
the direction they're going in, right? They're
starting to worship other gods. But Micah is
not actually worshiping other gods. He created
idols, so that does make it idolatry, but those
idols were to be part of his worship of God.
This chapter is just about him shrinking God.
He attempted to reduce the creator of heaven
and earth into someone who could be managed by
enough religious activity. Every generation on
the earth will face that temptation. You, me,
our kids, our grandkids, our great -great -grandkids,
and the great -great -grandkids of every person
you will ever meet will face that same temptation.
Will we worship a God who is truly sovereign
or one small enough to fit inside our formulas?
That's the question. The gospel calls us not
to master God, but to trust God. Faith isn't
about manipulating the God of the universe. It's
about placing our lives into his sovereign, wise,
and loving hands, even when he answers differently
than we expect. The truth is that you're hearing
this today. You're probably already in some part
of this process. You live in the United States
of America, where the temptation to shrink God,
to whittle away God's sovereignty, is pushed
on people every single day. If you will whittle
away God's sovereignty, you can make more money.
In the world system. You can have more friends.
If we would whittle away God's sovereignty, we
could have more people here on Sundays. If we
will whittle away God's sovereignty, we can get
ahead in the fallen system that is rebelling
against God. Jesus said to Nicodemus, unless
you be born again, you shall not see the kingdom
of God. Further, he said, do not marvel, I say
unto you, you must be born again for anyone.
Here, who has not been born again, I'm asking
you today to be born again. You say, well, what
does that mean? It means you have a fresh start.
Now, let's look at the definition of a fresh
start, shall we? It's a moment in time in which
you decide that from here on out, I am going
to be willing, I am going to let God be in charge
of my life. Now, does that sound like whittling
away the sovereignty of God? It is the opposite.
You're saying, God, I recognize your supreme
sovereignty. I submit myself and I allow myself
to be guided by your supreme sovereignty. And
then over time, Christians begin to whittle away
at that sovereignty. Because if God's sovereignty
determines what my today is going to be like,
and I want my today to be something other than
that, then I have to whittle away at his sovereignty
in order to make that work. And I'm here today
to say, don't do it. Christian, if you've been
born again, today, right now, Decide that God
alone is sovereign. I want you to imagine for
one split second, just long enough to be aware
that it exists, the biggest, baddest, chunkiest
demon you could possibly imagine. It's the size
of Godzilla. His big toe is the size of Empire
State Building. He is stomping on anything, and
God picks him up by his tiny head and squishes
him like this and drops him out brain dead. Nothing.
The world is nothing. Demons are nothing. Evil
spirits are nothing. Money is nothing. Time is
nothing. Talent. Process, personalities, relationships,
struggles, it's all nothing. The sovereignty
of God is everything. Will you submit to it?
That's the question. God who declares the end
before the beginning has a better plan for you
than you can ever assemble, even if you somehow
became aware of all the parts which I submit
to you you're not. Even if you somehow became
aware of all the parts and put them together
in perfect order to your own standards, you could
not construct the plan that God has for you.
His plan is better. This time we'll ask the praise
team to come and lead us in a final hymn. And
I'm asking you today to reignite your understanding
of the sovereignty of God. God alone is in charge.
His will, not my will. Might it result in something
that humans would call suffering? Yes, it might.
Might it leave you without something that you
wish you could render for yourself? More money,
more time, more praise, a promotion, something
like that. Yeah, it might. But if it's in the
sovereign will of God, then you can guarantee
that the end plan will be better. You cannot
construct it. You cannot measure it out. You
can't even see all the parts that are involved.
that you can submit to the sovereign will of
God in the universe for the first time ever,
you say it now, and secure your place in heaven
for eternity. I submit to the sovereign will
of God. Jesus is Lord. Or, again today, if as
a Christian you realize you've been whittling
away at the sovereignty of God to make a place
for your own desires, you can repent and say,
I will do it no more. It's a lot like getting
saved again. And he promises that he is going
to forgive, he's willing to forgive, but also
confess and cleanse of all unrighteousness. And
the effect of your whittling away of the solid
of God can be drawn right now in an instant and
say, I know God is in charge. Will you stand
with me and sing this song that the Lord has
moved you to do so that you respond and let us
know what's on your heart today. I have decided
to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus.
You might be here today and you can't say the
word Jesus. That's a problem. Say, I have decided
to follow Jesus. If you can't say the name Jesus,
you've got a problem. Though none go with me
I still will follow Though turning back No turning
back. My cross I'll carry till I see Jesus. My
cross I'll carry till I see Jesus. My cross I'll
carry till I see Jesus. No turning back. I'm
turning back. I see one. Anyone else? You two?
Anyone else? You three? Just keep them up for
a second. We're going to pray together. Anyone
else? One wants? One wants? Father in heaven,
I commit myself to get out of bed every day and
recognize your sovereignty. It's foolish of me
to think that I would even be here if it were
not for you intervening on my behalf. We beat
all the statistics. We're so far beyond. where
we would be if you hadn't intervened, that we
just have to realize you are that God who loves
us, who is in charge, who deserves to be in charge.
For those who have their hands raised, and for
myself as well, we pray, you be sovereign. Teach
us about your sovereignty. Help us to remember
your sovereignty, day in and day out, choice
by choice. Lord, never ever let us sink into
trying to make it some kind of chemical reaction
or steps that we have to follow. We commit to
you. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Now,
if you're in this room today and you say, regardless
of what anybody else might think, you say, I
realize I need to be born again. Before you say
anything, being born again means a fresh start
in Jesus, that he starts your life over. It means
everything that was behind is gone. It's a new
start. It's meant to be a one -time deal. And
yes, we make mistakes somewhere along the way.
Sometimes we've got to repent, turn back to the
Lord. But if you're here today and you say, I
need to do that today. I want to give my life
to the Lord. I'm going to follow him to the best
of my ability, whatever that looks like. Then
I want you to raise your hand right now. I'm
going to pray for you. If you're in the room
and you're giving your life to the Lord for the
first time ever, it doesn't matter what anybody
else thinks. But you know it's the first time
ever that you raise your hand. Father, I pray
for the one who's in this room right now who's
resisting putting their hands up because of appearances.
I pray for one that might be in this room right
now who is still searching out the truth of it,
still figuring it out. I know I did that for
six months, and I guess I was pretty thorough,
and yet I sure could have messed it up, and you
just flat out called me. You were patient with
me, and you said, please come to me, and I came.
Maybe that's where they're at. You're saying,
please come to them. You say, just please come.
Lord, just keep telling them, please come, and
be patient, Lord. As we know you can be. And
merciful and kind toward them. They might figure
it out. And even as I'm praying right now, their
heart's turning. And they realize they're hearing
you. And they need to make some kind of a decision.
We're going to close out in prayer. And then
we're coming back together with the children
for the Lord's Supper. And that's meant to be
believers. It's meant to be people who recognize
the sacrifice that you made. And so I just pray,
Lord, that we'll remedy our situation. There's
something that's standing between us and you
that will let you take it out of the way. I pray
all this in Jesus' name. Amen. All right. So
this is what we have left on our agenda. We're
going to pray one more time together to close
out our regular services. And then we'll pray
a couple more times during the Lord's Supper.
There's really no problem. You can talk to the
Lord as much as you want. We'll do that too.
But we are only going to take just a very, very
short break, just long enough to marshal the
kids. So if you need a little bathroom, get in
there quick and get back in here for the Lord's
Supper. And then we're done and out of here.
In probably 15 minutes. So don't freak out about
it. Your lunch will still be there when you get
there. He can tell you. Would you close us in
prayer at this time? We are transitioning to
Lord's Supper. Thank you for your love. Yes.
Thank you for your forgiveness. Thank you for
watching us. Knowing that we make mistakes. Thank
you for your forgiveness. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.