Houston Congregational Christian Church

Pastor James Manuel
4883 Russia-Houston Road
Houston, OH  45333
Phone:  937-295-3591
Email:  click here

Date:  March 29, 2009

Title:  What Does God Want From Me?

Call to Worship:   Ephesians 2:8-9

Scripture Reading:   Micah 6:1-8

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable unto You O Lord on this Your day.

What Does God want from You?    A young man by the name of Andy became a devoted Christian while he was in college   and often told people----Just remember,  Jesus loves me   and Jesus loves you.     When he became angry   however,   Andy would simply say in a quiet voice and with a completely straight face----Just remember   Jesus Loves me   and He likes you.       But when things got really bad,    Andy would just throw up his hands and look at the sky and yell-----God What do you WANT  from me?

Have you ever felt like doing that?    Looking up at God and pleading with Him saying----God what do you want me to do?      This is the message Micah presents in our O. T. lesson for today.      Micah was the prophet of the downtrodden and exploited people of Israel.    He prophesied about 800 years before Christ,     during a time of great social injustice and he opposed those who took advantage of the poor and weak for selfish ends.  

In Micah 6:1 the Lord says,  ‘Stand up plead your case before the mountains,  let the hills hear what you have to say.’      Here Micah pictures a courtroom,   and God,  the Judge,   tells His people what He requires of them    and recites all the ways they have wronged both Him and others.   

Then in v3 God says,  ‘My people   what have I done to you?   How have I burdened you?   Answer Me.’    The people then as well as today could never answer that question,     because God has done nothing wrong.     In fact God had been patient with them,    just like God is exceedingly patient with us.      As 2 Peter 3:9 says,  ‘God is patient with you,  not wanting anyone to perish,  but everyone to come to repentance.’  

God has always lovingly guided and us.   God has always given us every opportunity to return to Him.        So as Micah preaches to the people   he raises the question that we sometimes ask----God,   what does the Lord require of us?        

First in Micah 6:8 God tells us plainly that,  ‘He has showed you,  O man   what is good.   And what does the Lord requires of you.’         May I say people have tried all kinds of ways to please God as vs 6-7 tells us,  ‘Shall I come before the Lord with burnt offerings with calves a year old?    Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,   with ten thousand rivers of oil?    Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression?’

Now these are all good and fine,   but God has made His wishes clear as He tells us in Micah 6:8 what we have to do,    ‘To act justly,    to Love mercy,   and to walk humbly with your God.’      You see my friends God wants His people to be---Just----Merciful----and Walk Humbly with Him.

First thing God wants from us is to Act Justly,    God wants us to act with fairness,   honestly,   and integrity.        Micah had a special concern for justice,     because he saw so little of it.        What God requires of us is that we do what is right and fair in our dealing with all people. 

Justice  can be as simple as being honest    in even the smallest of transactions.    In Micah 6:11 the prophet complained about the person who uses,  ‘dishonest scales with a bag of false weights.’       There’s an old saying----Honesty is the best policy.   But for the Christian that slogan should be----Honest is the only policy.      We are called to be people of fairness and integrity in all our dealing.      Job 31:6 says,   ‘Let God weigh me in honest scales   and He will know that I am blameless.’

The second thing that God requires of us  Micah 6:8 is that we  ‘Love mercy.’     We are to fill our hearts with compassion and kindness toward one another.       Notice that the requirement is not that we HAVE mercy   but that we are to LOVE  mercy.      And one way of describing the difference is to say that we don’t just do acts of kindness out of obedience or compulsion   but that we do them out of LOVE.     In Jesus’ teaching  the idea of Unexpected acts of kindness was important. In the parable of the Good Samaritan  it was the one considered least likely to offer help who did so.     The parable of the prodigal son reveals to us the heart of a father who accepted his son regardless of what others thought.       The story of the woman caught in adultery teaches loving mercy scarcely revealed anywhere else.      And the dying thief on the cross has a lesson for us     about the depth of God’s forgiveness.

Because we have such a merciful God   we are called to have Mercy.  Jesus said in Matt. 5:7,   ‘Blessed are the merciful   for they shall obtain mercy.’      And in 1 Peter 3:8 it says,  ‘All of you be of one mind,   having compassion for one another,   love as brothers,  be tender-hearted.’     You see my friends Mercy is the ONLY response to show one another in light of the mercy that God has shown us in Jesus Christ.  

And the third thing God requires of us Micah 6:8 is to,  ‘Walk humbly with your God.’      God expects His children to love and get along with one another.    He expects His children to treat one another justly and fairly.       He expects His children to love mercy,  to show kindness and forgiveness toward one another.      But God expects us to have a right relationship with Him.    That right relationship with God begins with humility.    As Ephesians 2:8-9 reminds us that,  ‘It is by grace you have been saved,  through Faith and this not from yourselves,  it is the gift of God.  Not by works   so that no one can boast.’

God expects us to walk humbly with Him.     We often are arrogant,   proud.   We often tend to think that God’s role is to make us happy,   to serve us,   to answer our prayers.     But it is we   who are to serve and glorify God.      As Psalm 34:3 tells us,  ‘Glorify the Lord with me,   let us exalt His name together.’    We are to----Walk humbly with the Lord.

In closing then----what does God want form us.   Not that much  really.   God wants us----To Act Justly.   To Love Mercy.     And God wants us----To Walk Humble With Him.