i'm glad you're here this week<\/p>\n
i wish i could say it's good to see you<\/p>\n
but because of the way it's set up i<\/p>\n
can't see any of you i'm just looking<\/p>\n
if any of us feel worn down stressed<\/p>\n
overwhelmed<\/p>\n
or worried by the things that have<\/p>\n
happened this week<\/p>\n
whether that's covid or other things<\/p>\n
know that you're not alone<\/p>\n
[Music]<\/p>\n
i think we all are longing for the day<\/p>\n
when the pandemic passes and we can<\/p>\n
gather it together again<\/p>\n
and if any of us are feeling<\/p>\n
particularly down today i pray that god<\/p>\n
would meet us<\/p>\n
and as we turn to god's word today let's<\/p>\n
bring with us this sense of longing<\/p>\n
the negativity<\/p>\n
so we'll be going through micah 5 and<\/p>\n
boss will be reading it this week we'll<\/p>\n
be reading it in thai so feel free to<\/p>\n
follow along on the screen in english<\/p>\n
foreign<\/p>\n
my<\/p>\n
so a lot of the legends of the world are<\/p>\n
filled with stories that speak of a<\/p>\n
great king who used to rule and will one<\/p>\n
day come back<\/p>\n
when the good king is here everything is<\/p>\n
okay but then the king is gone and<\/p>\n
everything falls apart<\/p>\n
and when will the king return<\/p>\n
girlfriend<\/p>\n
like<\/p>\n
we see this theme is popular in books<\/p>\n
and legends and movies today<\/p>\n
lord of the rings for example the third<\/p>\n
installment being called the return of<\/p>\n
the king<\/p>\n
lord of the rings<\/p>\n
another example is in c.s lewis's the<\/p>\n
chronicles of narnia<\/p>\n
as land the lion is the true king but<\/p>\n
then he's gone and narnia is plunged<\/p>\n
into winter<\/p>\n
spoiler alert defeats the witch and<\/p>\n
everything is okay again<\/p>\n
the people are suffering they're dying<\/p>\n
and in some cases even their world is<\/p>\n
ending<\/p>\n
and then the king steps in<\/p>\n
and rescues the people rescues the land<\/p>\n
and everything is<\/p>\n
and as we've been going through micah<\/p>\n
these past few weeks we know that<\/p>\n
israel is not okay things are not okay<\/p>\n
in israel<\/p>\n
we've talked about how the leaders are<\/p>\n
failing the people<\/p>\n
taking advantage of them we've talked<\/p>\n
about the injustice and the exploitation<\/p>\n
that the israelites face<\/p>\n
as a country israel is in winter people<\/p>\n
are suffering from corruption on the<\/p>\n
inside<\/p>\n
because of this god is going to bring<\/p>\n
judgment from the outside<\/p>\n
so verse 1 gives us a picture of<\/p>\n
humiliation<\/p>\n
israel is going to be attacked and their<\/p>\n
king will not be able to lift a finger<\/p>\n
to defend himself<\/p>\n
imagine the highest authority<\/p>\n
being struck<\/p>\n
i can only imagine they'd be thinking<\/p>\n
where is god who promised them that they<\/p>\n
would be a blessing to the whole world<\/p>\n
it looks like now the whole thing is<\/p>\n
about to be destroyed<\/p>\n
and as we've seen they're in this<\/p>\n
position because of their own rebellion<\/p>\n
so<\/p>\n
so they have gotten themselves into this<\/p>\n
mess and there seems to be no way out<\/p>\n
so verse 2 but out of you will come for<\/p>\n
me one who will be ruler over israel<\/p>\n
whose origins are from old<\/p>\n
horizons<\/p>\n
we see here that hope is in the form of<\/p>\n
a king<\/p>\n
which leads us to ask<\/p>\n
who is this king what is he going to do<\/p>\n
so the text tells us that this king is<\/p>\n
going to come from an unlikely place<\/p>\n
one of the smallest clans in judah<\/p>\n
bethlehem ephrathah was going to be the<\/p>\n
clan out of which this king would come<\/p>\n
here<\/p>\n
now if you're expecting a king i would<\/p>\n
imagine he would come from a place of<\/p>\n
power and authority<\/p>\n
but this king comes from a place of<\/p>\n
weakness in significance<\/p>\n
it also tells us that this king is going<\/p>\n
to come for god<\/p>\n
in other words god's going to raise for<\/p>\n
himself<\/p>\n
one who<\/p>\n
this is in contrast to the current kings<\/p>\n
in israel who as we've seen are taking<\/p>\n
advantage of their own people soon<\/p>\n
this king will not come for himself but<\/p>\n
for god<\/p>\n
what's interesting is in verse 4 we see<\/p>\n
that this king is also a shepherd<\/p>\n
what does a shepherd do<\/p>\n
shepherd takes care of their ship<\/p>\n
but not only that a shepherd is in<\/p>\n
charge<\/p>\n
it's not a democracy in the shipping<\/p>\n
there's only one shepherd<\/p>\n
a shepherd knows the needs of their<\/p>\n
sheep and a large part of a shepherd's<\/p>\n
job is a rescue work<\/p>\n
this is because sheep have a tendency to<\/p>\n
get lost<\/p>\n
in fact the sheep will keep his nose to<\/p>\n
the ground following the strip of<\/p>\n
greenness grass little by little<\/p>\n
separating them from the rest of the<\/p>\n
flock until finally they're completely<\/p>\n
out of sight and the sheep doesn't know<\/p>\n
where it is<\/p>\n
once the sheep is aware of this what do<\/p>\n
they do they run seeking their way but<\/p>\n
they don't know how to get<\/p>\n
the bible frequently refers to humans as<\/p>\n
sheep as well<\/p>\n
isaiah 53 for example says we all like<\/p>\n
sheep have gone astray<\/p>\n
and sheep do not go astray on purpose<\/p>\n
they don't intend to wander away<\/p>\n
but they're so caught up with something<\/p>\n
that it leads them away from their true<\/p>\n
shepherd<\/p>\n
mode<\/p>\n
and tim keller points out that deep<\/p>\n
within our hearts we all long for a<\/p>\n
shepherd to come and care for our needs<\/p>\n
why not i is there someone who is going<\/p>\n
to make everything right<\/p>\n
is there someone who is going to bring<\/p>\n
control in all my chaos<\/p>\n
we're all looking for a shepherd but<\/p>\n
where do we find one<\/p>\n
some of us are looking for that in our<\/p>\n
spouses whether we're married or single<\/p>\n
hula bangkok<\/p>\n
some of us think that our parents and<\/p>\n
families and kids are going to be the<\/p>\n
one to take care of our needs<\/p>\n
we all want somebody to be our shepherd<\/p>\n
somebody or something that will<\/p>\n
completely complete us and will make us<\/p>\n
feel okay<\/p>\n
and when we discover that none of these<\/p>\n
people our spouse our families our<\/p>\n
leaders can truly meet our expectations<\/p>\n
we get surprised disappointed or even<\/p>\n
angry<\/p>\n
some of us may have already been<\/p>\n
disappointed<\/p>\n
so we know that no one can be our<\/p>\n
shepherds that everyone is going to let<\/p>\n
us down<\/p>\n
again<\/p>\n
so what do we do we look to ourselves to<\/p>\n
be our own shepherd<\/p>\n
there's a pretty famous poem by a<\/p>\n
british poet named william ernest henley<\/p>\n
and i'm sure you'll recognize the ending<\/p>\n
it goes like this i am the master of my<\/p>\n
faith and i am the captain of my soul<\/p>\n
one of the problems with being your own<\/p>\n
shepherd and there's many but one of<\/p>\n
them is how do you know you're qualified<\/p>\n
how do you know that you are the best<\/p>\n
person for that job<\/p>\n
look at the israelites they wanted to be<\/p>\n
their own shepherd and that's the reason<\/p>\n
they're in this mess to begin with<\/p>\n
when you look at children and they ask<\/p>\n
for something<\/p>\n
let me have all the chocolates are you<\/p>\n
always going to give them what they want<\/p>\n
no of course not if a child was able to<\/p>\n
get everything they wanted they'd be<\/p>\n
dead in three hours<\/p>\n
look what happens<\/p>\n
the difference between an adult and a<\/p>\n
child is nowhere near as wide as the<\/p>\n
difference between us<\/p>\n
if god created the world and if god<\/p>\n
created us that means we were made for<\/p>\n
something<\/p>\n
the world isn't created if it's all<\/p>\n
natural selection then there's no such<\/p>\n
thing as meaning then we're all a<\/p>\n
product of survival of the fittest<\/p>\n
but if god created us then we were made<\/p>\n
for a purpose<\/p>\n
we are created not to be our own lords<\/p>\n
and saviors not to be our own masters<\/p>\n
but to be completely<\/p>\n
will shepherd his flock back to god and<\/p>\n
they will live securely and at peace<\/p>\n
see the pattern of the story things are<\/p>\n
not okay in fact things are very bad but<\/p>\n
a king will come and bring<\/p>\n
so let's look at what the text says<\/p>\n
about this ruler's kingdom<\/p>\n
so this text is about the problems of<\/p>\n
israel they're going to be attacked by<\/p>\n
assyria babylon and micah says it's all<\/p>\n
right it's going to happen israel will<\/p>\n
be abandoned but a king will rise up<\/p>\n
and you might think okay this king is<\/p>\n
going to deliver the israelites and make<\/p>\n
them great again<\/p>\n
but look at verse 4 they will live<\/p>\n
securely for his greatness will reach<\/p>\n
the ends of the earth until his brothers<\/p>\n
will return to join the israelites<\/p>\n
is extended to the whole world<\/p>\n
the king is not only going to address<\/p>\n
israel's problems but the needs of the<\/p>\n
whole world<\/p>\n
this king is going to get rid of all<\/p>\n
evil and<\/p>\n
all injustice and poverty<\/p>\n
why how because he's the true king he is<\/p>\n
the true shepherd<\/p>\n
and when micah said these words he did<\/p>\n
not know who this king would be<\/p>\n
the israelites were given a hope that<\/p>\n
god would raise up a king in the future<\/p>\n
but they did not know who<\/p>\n
is<\/p>\n
because matthew in chapter 2 quotes<\/p>\n
micah 5 and says this king is jesus<\/p>\n
christ<\/p>\n
there is a reason why we're moved by all<\/p>\n
the myths and legends about a king who<\/p>\n
is going<\/p>\n
we know we are in need of being rescued<\/p>\n
we know we are in need of a shepherd<\/p>\n
what if i told you jesus christ is the<\/p>\n
reality to which all these myths and<\/p>\n
legends points<\/p>\n
in the midst of darkness god sends his<\/p>\n
son born in the most unlikely place in a<\/p>\n
manger<\/p>\n
um<\/p>\n
and finally on the cross it looks like<\/p>\n
evil has defeated him but he is raised<\/p>\n
from the dead<\/p>\n
now he's bringing together a band of<\/p>\n
people renewing their lives and one day<\/p>\n
he will renew the whole world<\/p>\n
this is the king we are all after<\/p>\n
us<\/p>\n
jesus christ is that beautiful prince<\/p>\n
that your heart longs for when you read<\/p>\n
those stories<\/p>\n
he is the shepherd we've all been<\/p>\n
searching for<\/p>\n
how ben god<\/p>\n
jesus christ is the king that god raised<\/p>\n
up not only for the israelites but for<\/p>\n
the whole world<\/p>\n
if jesus is your king it means we need<\/p>\n
to see his<\/p>\n
we don't submit to jesus's lordship by<\/p>\n
just saying okay jesus you're more<\/p>\n
powerful than me so i guess i have to<\/p>\n
obey<\/p>\n
surrender does not start by viewing<\/p>\n
jesus's power first it starts by viewing<\/p>\n
his sacrificial love<\/p>\n
for the lord<\/p>\n
tells us that this king will shepherd<\/p>\n
his people and in john 10 11 jesus says<\/p>\n
i am the good shepherd i lay my life<\/p>\n
down for the sheep me<\/p>\n
because when you see jesus on that cross<\/p>\n
for you you can say why would i not<\/p>\n
trust someone who would go through all<\/p>\n
that for me<\/p>\n
why wouldn't i trust someone who would<\/p>\n
go through all of that for me how am i<\/p>\n
not he's a messiah<\/p>\n
and until you are moved by his death and<\/p>\n
sacrificial love you have not begun to<\/p>\n
truly surrender to his lordship<\/p>\n
jesus<\/p>\n
jesus may be a lot of things to you<\/p>\n
but he's not your king until you've made<\/p>\n
this commitment<\/p>\n
whatever he has said in his word you are<\/p>\n
going to do whether you understand it or<\/p>\n
whether you like it<\/p>\n
if you've made that commitment he is<\/p>\n
we only obey jesus when we understand<\/p>\n
why that's not obedience that's<\/p>\n
agreement<\/p>\n
but there's going to be times in our<\/p>\n
life for some of us even now<\/p>\n
where we don't like or are challenged by<\/p>\n
what the bible says and in those times<\/p>\n
we might feel tempted to go back to<\/p>\n
being our own shepherds<\/p>\n
but if jesus is truly your king<\/p>\n
then we need to obey his word whether we<\/p>\n
like it or not knowing ultimately that<\/p>\n
it's good for us<\/p>\n
the last one<\/p>\n
if jesus is your king it means that we<\/p>\n
live with hope<\/p>\n
verses 10 and 15 and micah may look<\/p>\n
disturbing<\/p>\n
god is tearing down horses and chariots<\/p>\n
cities idols and sacred stones this<\/p>\n
looks disturbing<\/p>\n
success<\/p>\n
what god is doing is he is cleansing<\/p>\n
israel<\/p>\n
israel looked to these things to be<\/p>\n
their shepherd this is what they trusted<\/p>\n
god is bringing those down so that they<\/p>\n
can trust in him<\/p>\n
and of course it hurts it can feel like<\/p>\n
a knife<\/p>\n
but we know that this is not a dagger<\/p>\n
it's a surgeon's knife making precise<\/p>\n
cuts in order to heal<\/p>\n
god is performing radical surgery to rid<\/p>\n
his people of the things that caused<\/p>\n
them to stumble<\/p>\n
and god does this with us too<\/p>\n
but living with hope means that when<\/p>\n
things don't go our way or as we had<\/p>\n
wished we continue to trust god<\/p>\n
when we worry we're basically saying i<\/p>\n
know how the universe should run i know<\/p>\n
how my life has to go i know what needs<\/p>\n
to happen and i don't know that god is<\/p>\n
going to do it right<\/p>\n
now<\/p>\n
but if jesus is our king and if he is<\/p>\n
our shepherd then he knows what we need<\/p>\n
and we can look to jesus and say you are<\/p>\n
god you are the king<\/p>\n
and that means we can live with hope<\/p>\n
are there people or communities that<\/p>\n
you've given up on missing<\/p>\n
with god nothing is impossible you are<\/p>\n
coming to a king<\/p>\n
that is<\/p>\n
lord god we thank you for<\/p>\n
your word today we thank you for the<\/p>\n
relevance of your word lord we pray that<\/p>\n
through your holy spirit you would help<\/p>\n
us to see your sacrificial love for us<\/p>\n
on the cross and would that move us to<\/p>\n
obedience<\/p>\n
and to love<\/p>\n
lord we can't do this on our own we<\/p>\n
can't do this by our own strength and so<\/p>\n
we plead<\/p>\n
for mercy lord that you've already given<\/p>\n
to us<\/p>\n
lord would you allow us to experience<\/p>\n
the gospel not only in our heads but in<\/p>\n
our hearts as well<\/p>\n
and give us what we need lord god for<\/p>\n
today and for this week<\/p>\n
in jesus name amen<\/p>","english_search_text":"","":"","original_publish_date":"20211028","video_url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=0AymLoQmGfw","video_id":"0AymLoQmGfw","video_duration":"32:49","channel_name":"Grace City Bangkok"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=931"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/931\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":932,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/931\/revisions\/932"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}