This Week's Sunday School Lesson, "God's Mercy In Restoration", 7/27/2015

GOD'S MERCY IN RESTORATION

Micah 7:14 - 20

A PRAYER FOR GUIDANCE AND DIRECTIONS

V:14. " Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, which lives by itself in a forest, in fertile pasturelands.  Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead as in days long ago. "

 A. Prayer is always in season.

     1. Whenever we are troubled, we should feel free to go to God.

     2. There are some things only God can handle.

 B. When you have counseled someone and they want listen, then you  need to

      put the problem in God's hands.

    1. When interceding on someone's behalf, be specific.

    2. The Word says, we should pray without ceasing.

C. The prophet Micah was praying for Israel's restoration from their sinful behavior.

    1. He prayed that God would be their shepherd.

        a. Our Shepherd is Jesus Christ.

        b. The rod is His Word.

    2. He prayed that God would use the hook on the shepherd's rod to pull Israel

        back in line.

    3. Sometimes, we will not change unless doors are closed on us and we have no

        way to turn but to God.

    4. God locked Israel out of the promise land, before they would long

        for His mercy and crave for the opportunity to worship in the temple.

REFLECT ON WHAT GOD HAS DONE

V:15.  "As in the days when you came out of Egypt, I will show them my wonders."

 A. In spite of us, God keeps His promises and fulfills His covenants.

     1. Israel pursued darkness by their worship of idol gods and refusing to follow

         God's commands.

     2. As a result of their sins, Israel lost possession of the promise land

        (for a period of 70 years).

 B. After God brought them out of captivity, and restored them into the promise land,

      they were still under Babylonian control.

    1. God kept His promises to David and Solomon  by sending His Son, Jesus Christ

        as their everlasting king.

    2. While Jesus walked the earth, He performed miracles and wonders before His

         people and  the enemies of God.

    3. Even  though, the Israelites  were in the mist of the light, they preferred darkness.

HOPE FOR A SUCCESSFUL FUTURE

V:16. " Nations will see and be ashamed, deprived of all their power. They will lay their hands on their mouths and their ears will become deaf. "

 A. This is a prophecy of the end times that will take place doing the millennium.

     1. Jesus will come back some time in the future (could be soon) and take all believers

         living and dead  to heaven to be with Him.   1 Thes 4:13-18.

     2. There will be a seven year tribulation period.

     3. The Israelites who survive the tribulation will be ruled by Christ their

          King, for a thousand years.  Rev 20:4

 B. With Jesus as King and ruler on earth, all sorts of miracles can take place.

     1. There is no power greater than Jesus.

     2. When Jesus was resurrected, all power over heaven and earth was given to Him.

          Mat 28:18

V:17. " They will lick dust like a snake, like creatures that crawl on the ground. They will come trembling out of their dens; they will turn in fear to the Lord our God and will be afraid of you. "

A. With the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Church was established.

    1. The Church is powered by the Holy Spirit.

    2. Faith in the Word of God makes all things possible.

B. The Wisdom of God confounds the wise of the world.

    1. Christians who trust the Lord have nothing to fear.

    2. Those who trust in themselves will eventually find failure in some area of their lives.

    3. God uses the failures in our lives to draw us to Him.

THINK ON THE GOODNESS OF GOD

V:18. " Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.

 A. Jesus death on the cross, atoned for the sins of the world.

     1. The shed blood of Jesus covers the sins of the faithful, making them acceptable to

         God the Father.

     2.We are saved by graced through faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 B. It is the Word of God that sanctifies us before the Father.

     1. God is not angry with us because His Son has justified us before the

         Him.

     2. Faith in Jesus gives us the inheritance of  eternal life.

V:19. " You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. "

A. Jesus atoned for our sins and the Father does not hold them against us.

    1. Psalms 103:12 states, " As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed

        our transgressions from us."

     2. It takes knowledge of the Word to know that the wages of sin is death.

     3. It takes knowledge of the Word to know that God forgives our sins through

         our faith in His Son.

     4. God had prophets who new His Word and maintained a relationship with Him.

 B. The nation of Israel had no right to expect anything from God.

     1. They had rejected the almighty God in favor of idol gods.

     2. They took advantage of the poor, the widowers and the orphans.

     3. They used unbalanced scales in their transactions.

     4. They changed the boundaries of the land in their favor.

 C. But God gave them prophets that knew the Word.

      1. God gave them righteous men who interceded for them in prayer.

      2. God gave them righteous men who knew the promises of God.

 C. When you have a relationship with Jesus , you can ask Him anything.

     1. There is power in prayer.

     2. There is hope in prayer.

     3. God unleashes His grace and mercy because of our prayers of faithfulness.

GOD KEEPS HIS PROMISES

V:20. " You will be true to Jacob, and show mercy to Abraham, as you pledged on oath

 to our fathers in days long ago."

A. God made a promise to Abraham that his descendants would inherent  the promise

     land  forever.

    1. God does not change His plans because we are disobedient.

    2. God's plan will be fulfilled with or without us.

    3. In Israel's case, a new generations of Israelites would see the God's

        promises fulfilled.

B. What can we learn about God through this text?

    1.God forgives us for our sins if we ask with a repentant heart.

    2. God gets angry, but His anger will work out for our good.

    3. God loves to show us mercy.  His mercy endures forever.

    4. The God we serve is a compassionate God.

    5. God has settle the issue of sin through the death of our Lord and Savior 

        Jesus Christ.

    6. God is true and faithful to His Word.

    7. It is by God's grace through His son that we obtain Heaven as our final destination.

LET US KEEP OUR FAITH IN JESUS AND OUR HOPE IN HIS PROMISES

Rev. M. Mitchell

Asst Pastor of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church