The Situation in Jerusalem was bleak in 700 B.C. The northern kingdom fell in 722 and now Micah brings a message that judgment will fall upon the southern kingdom (Jerusalem). But the prophets' eagle eye of faith saw beyond the destruction of the holy city to the phoenix-like resurrection of the kingdom of God in the coming Messianic Age.

“Its HEADS give judgment for a bribe; its PRIESTS teach for a price; its PROPHETS practice divination for money; yet they lean on the Lord and say, 'Is not the Lord in the midst of us? No disaster shall come upon us.' Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height.

It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it, and many nations shall come, and say: 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.' For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide disputes for strong nations far away; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore; but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken. For all the peoples walk each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.”  Micah 3:11-4:5

1. The glorious promise regarding the kingdom (Micah 4:1-2) 

2. The results that come from the rule of Messiah King 

• The kingdom of God is established as supreme. (vs 1)
  
• The nations will be wonderfully taught. (vs 1b-2)
• God’s people will be taught and will walk in His paths. (Psalm 25:10, 65:11; Proverbs 3:17) 
• The Messiah King shall judge between many people. (Hebrews 4:12)
• The personal enjoyment of peace with national ramifications (vs 3b-4) (This flourishing involves a sense of peace and contentment)

3. How will this empowering and future glory be accomplished? (Micah 5:2-5a)

“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel. And he shall STAND and SHEPHERD his flock in the STRENGTH of the Lord, in the MAJESTY of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall DWELL SECURE, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And he shall be their peace.”  Micah 5:2-5a

The greatest need in the church today is for the people of God to be awakened to the majesty, power, and glory that is found in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Q 55: How does Christ intercede?

A: Christ intercedes by continually appearing in our human nature before the Father in heaven. There he makes his will clear that his own merit of obedience and sacrifice on earth be applied to all believers; he answers all the accusations against believers and makes sure they have peace of conscience, in spite of their daily failing; and he welcomes them without hesitation to the throne of grace and accepts who they are and what they do for him. Larger Catechism

Q 46: What do you confess when you say, He ascended into heaven?

A: That Christ, before the eyes of His disciples, was taken up from the earth into heaven, and that He is there for our benefit until He comes again to judge the living and the dead. Heidelberg Catechism

“And what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might and he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,”  Ephesians 1:19-20

QUESTIONS:

1. What does the following concept mean, “because of the work of the resurrection and ascension of Jesus we live in the already…but not yet”? 

2. What is the difference between real, and substantial change (which is ongoing by the power of the Holy Spirit) and the concept of utopian perfectionism (that can only be found in Heaven? 

3. Why is the wall display outside of the United Nations regarding Isaiah 2:4 an example of taking scripture out of context? How will that promise from the book of Isaiah be accomplished?

4. What does this prayer mean? “Abba Father, by your grace and power, bring more and more of your kingly rule into my life. May the ‘already nature of your kingdom’ be more and more pronounced by the power of your Holy Spirit.”