And so to sort of recalibrate us and put us in the context of what we will be studying tonight, as a reminder, as we ended Micah chapter six, we saw striking words of judgment from God. As he pronounced in verse 13 that he would strike Judah with a grievous blow, making them desolate because of their sins. That promised desolation was described in verses 14 and 15 of chapter six, if you want to look there. He says, you shall eat, but not be satisfied. And there shall be hunger within you. You shall put away, but not preserve. And what you preserve, I will give to the sword. You shall sow, but not reap. You shall tread olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil. You shall tread grapes, but not drink wine. And in verses 10 to 12 of chapter 6 is the summary of those sins, which were the reason for the judgment that God would bring upon the southern kingdom. In addition to their idolatry, their following after other gods, were their sins against others. Businessmen, in these verses, were condemned for their dishonesty in their dealings. The rich were condemned for their oppression of the poor. And all were guilty of speaking lies and having deceit in their mouths. And because of these sins, God's judgment would come upon the Southern Kingdom as it had already come upon the Northern Kingdom. And tonight's passage continues our study of the third and final cycle of the book. Each cycle of the book has included promises of judgment and promises of salvation. Micah 6, 1 opened the third cycle of the book, like the other two cycles, which began in chapter 1, verse 2, and chapter 3, verse 1. And with the opening of that cycle, we heard the command here. It was a call to the people not only to audibly listen to what Micah would say on behalf of God, but it was a call to them to understand and appropriately respond to all that God would say to them. A third cycle like the others open with God's indictment or formal charge of a serious crime against the people. And throughout the book of Micah, we've alternated between portions of the book where Micah spoke words directly from God to the people. And there have also been portions where the words recorded are Micah's words. Tonight's passage is a passage where Micah's words are recorded. And in tonight's passage, we will see Micah's lament and his confident hope. Let us stand together. And let us read Micah chapter 7, verses 1 through 7. Woe is me, for I've become as when the summer fruit has been gathered, as when the grapes have been gleaned. There is no cluster to eat, no first ripe fig that my soul desires. The godly has perished from the earth, and there is no one upright among mankind. They all lie in wait for blood, and each hunts the other with a net. Their hands are on what is evil to do it well. The prince and the judge ask for a bribe, and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul. Thus they weave it together. The best of them is like a briar. The most upright of them, a thorn hedge. The day of your watchmen, of your punishment has come. Now their confusion is at hand. Put no trust in a neighbor. Have no confidence in a friend. Guard the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms. For the son treats the father with contempt. The daughter rises up against her mother. The daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man's enemies are the men of his own house. But as for me, I will look to the Lord. I will wait for the God of my salvation, my God, will hear me. Please be seated. In tonight's passage, we will see Micah's sorrow described, pervasive depravity detailed, and confident hope declared. Look at verse one, where we will see Micah's sorrow described. Verse one starts with three words, woe is me. Strong words of judgment that were previously spoken against Judah's many sins are interrupted by the words that open our passage tonight. Woe is me. This is Micah speaking. Woe is an expression of great grief or sorrow and it's spoken by the prophet. The same phrase is spoken by Job and Job chapter 10 as he makes a plea to God. And I want us to see this just so we can have a sense of what Micah is saying from these three words. So please turn to Job chapter 10. Of course, we know in Job, he was surrounded by friends who were not giving him the best advice, not necessarily speaking words that were beneficial. And he would often be able to express himself as well. And here in verse one of chapter 10, this is Job speaking. And listen to this. I want you to get a sense of the emotion that Job is expressing here, because you will see that he uses the same words that Micah uses to open our passage. Look at verse one. I loathe my life. I will give free utterance to my complaint. I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. I will say to God, do not condemn me. Let me know why you contend against me. Does it seem good to you to oppress, to despise the work of your hands and favor the designs of the wicked? Have you eyes of flesh? Do you see as man sees? Are your days as the days of man or your years as a man's years that you seek out my iniquity and search for my sin? Although you know that I am not guilty and there is none to deliver out of your hand. Your hands fashioned and made me and now you have destroyed me altogether. Remember that you have made me like clay and you will return me to the dust. Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese? You clothed me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews. You've granted me life and steadfast love, and your care has preserved my spirit. Yet these things you hid in your heart, I know that this was your purpose. If I sin, you watch me and do not acquit me of my iniquity. If I am guilty, woe to me. If I am in the right, I cannot lift up my head, for I am filled with disgrace. Look on my affliction. See here, Job saying that if he is guilty of sinning against God, that he is deserving of great grief and great sorrow that comes upon the one that God judges. And so if we turn back to Micah chapter 7, you see Micah using that same expression. Woe is me, or woe to me. And the rest of verse one gives the reasons for Micah's expression of great sorrow. As we read, for I've become as when the summer fruit has been gathered, as when the grapes have been gleaned. There is no cluster to eat, no first ripe fig that my soul desires. So that brings us to our first question of the night. What does this metaphor, the rest of verse one, and the metaphor is a figure of speech. Something is used to represent something else. What does this metaphor describe? And what is the metaphor's significance? What does the metaphor describe? And what is the metaphor's significance? Debbie? In my research, I can't figure this out myself. I've had that Micah's looking for other righteous people, but he can't find anybody. And all around, all he sees is a society that's in a state of moral decay. And he likens himself to fruit pickers who find their harvest meager after a season that should have been abundant. Good try. Anyone else? Yes, Titus. Okay, it seems like there was a famine of some sort because he's looking for something to eat and he can't find anything. He's looking for fruit, as we're told in the metaphor. Anyone else? Anyone else want to be brave and take a try? All right. Well, Debbie's answer was more than a good try. It was very good. This metaphor. equates the harvesting of fruit with the lack of godliness found throughout the southern kingdom. What has Micah been describing all throughout the book? He has been describing, as Debbie said, the decay, the moral decay of the kingdom. He's looking throughout Jerusalem, he's looking throughout the southern kingdom, and he finds nothing that would be the fruit of righteousness, fruit of any work of God working in the hearts of the people. Remember that we are looking at Hebrew poetry. And this poetry, at least this particular section, follows what can be called an A-B-B-A poetry structure. So as we look at this, consider this. Look at the second part of, or the third part of verse one, where it says, as when the summer fruit has been gathered. That can be considered A. And then if you go all the way to the end of the verse, no first ripe fig that my soul desires, that is coupled with that first line. And so he's looking for summer fruit, no first ripe fig that my soul desires. The first crop of figs came in June and the second crop in August. And so they were the summer fruit. If you look at the two lines in between, it says, as when the grapes have been gleaned, there is no cluster to eat. They're a couplet. There is no cluster to eat of the grapes because they have all been picked. If you remember in the law, the farmer was not to pick all of their grapes. They were to leave some for the poor who would want to be able to come later on and take what might be left. But instead, nothing is found. Micah's contemporary, the prophet Isaiah, used similar imagery in Isaiah chapter 5. So let's go to Isaiah chapter 5 and see what he says about the southern kingdom as well. Look at verse 1. Let me sing for my beloved my love song concerning his vineyard. My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He dug it and cleared it of stones and planted it with choice vines. He built a watchtower in the midst of it. He hewed out a wine vat in it, and he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it? When I look for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured. I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. I will make it a waste. It shall not be pruned or hoed. Briars and thorns shall grow up. I will also command the clouds, that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting. And he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed. For righteousness, but behold, an outcry. Isaiah indicates that instead of producing the fruit of justice, the fruit of bloodshed was found in Jerusalem and in the southern kingdom. And instead of the fruit of righteousness, an outcry or a cry of distress was found. So if we go back to Micah chapter 7, these metaphors describe Judah in Micah's day. people who turned from God to idols, people who dealt deceitfully with one another, people who listened to the words of false prophets instead of the true prophets that God had graciously provided for them, people who trusted in their military as their protection instead of trusting in God, people who basically ignored Micah's words as they had ignored the words of the other prophets that had come before him. But instead of anger, instead of words that would communicate an attitude of you're going to get what you deserve, Micah expresses great sorrow and great grief over Judah's spiritual condition. In many ways, Micah's response is a foreshadow of the same dynamic seen in the New Testament. As Christ came to the end of what would be his earthly ministry, he had preached the gospel throughout Israel. He had healed the sick, given clear evidence that he was the Messiah, and yet was rejected by the vast majority of the nation. We remember on the week of his crucifixion, after he had come into Jerusalem with his triumphant entry, clears the temple, confronts the religious leaders, and instead of anger, instead of an attitude of you're going to get what you deserve, we read this in Matthew 23, verses 37 through 39. Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it, how often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you are not willing. See, your house is left to you desolate, for I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Christ lamented over the spiritual condition of Israel. Just as Christ spoke of Israel's house being left desolate because of their sin of rejecting the prophets who God had sent to them, Micah's generation also rejected the prophets who were sent to them and displayed no outward fruit of wanting God or wanting to hear from God. And it should be no surprise that there was no outward fruit of righteousness to be seen because there was no inner life. There was plenty display of outward devotion, but there was no true life. There's no inner reality of wanting to live for God, of wanting to obey God. And so just as Micah's metaphor indicated that they were fig trees and vineyards without fruit, Judah was a place that showed outward signs of spiritual life, but there was no fruit, no true fruit. Instead, what the previous chapters of Micah have shown to reign in Judah and in the hearts of the people is what is detailed in the second part of our passage, and that is the pervasiveness or the widespread nature of Judah's depravity. Look at verse two. The godly has perished from the earth, and there is no one upright among mankind. They all lie in wait for blood, and each haunts the other with a net. Their hands are on what is evil to do it well. The prince and the judge ask for a bribe, and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul. Thus they weave it together. The best of them is like a briar. The most upright of them, a thorn hedge. The day of your watchman, of your punishment has come. Now their confusion is at hand. Put no trust in a neighbor. Have no confidence in a friend. Guard the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms. For the son treats the father with contempt. The daughter rises up against her mother. The daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, a man's enemies. are the men of his own house. That brings us to our next question. What does the detailing of Judah's sins in verses 2 through 6 reveal about man? And also, what does it reveal about God? Debbie, are you raising? Oh, you're not raising your hand. What we see in verses two through six, what does it reveal about man? And what does it reveal about God as well? Yes, Debbie? They're depraved and corrupt. OK. They are truly depraved and corrupt. Anyone else? Yes, Enoch. They are very wicked. They are not following God anymore. OK. They are very wicked and not following God anymore. Yes, Caleb. Okay, God has given them up to their sin. Others? They can't trust their relatives. Anyone else? Yes, Titus. Okay, they have turned away from God. And it's a clear display that if we are not loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, we're certainly not loving our neighbor as ourself. Look at this listing of sins. Most of them are about their relationship with other people. How did Micah begin? It began with God's charge against them of idolatry. And so they were not worshiping God. They were not loving God with all of their heart, soul, mind, and strength. And so what flows from that not worshiping God is not loving one's neighbor. And we see that clearly displayed here. The detailing of these sins also reveals that sin had permeated every sector of society. We will look more closely at that. But the detailing of these sins also reveals that God is long-suffering. These are not new sins. They didn't just start doing these things a day ago. This had been something that has been seen in mankind throughout history. And think about it also that as Micah is making these prophecies, it will be about another hundred years before God brings to pass the judgment that he's pronouncing on them. The long suffering of God. He's merciful in that he hasn't rendered unto them what they deserve. And he is also gracious. and that he sent Micah and sent Isaiah as well, who was preaching in Jerusalem, and he sends other prophets to continually warn them of the coming judgment, all with the call for them to turn from their sin and to turn to him. But these verses display different places that we see the depravity that is pervasive throughout the southern kingdom. In verses two through 3a, we see depravity seen universally. Verse two says, the godly has perished from the earth, and there is no one upright among mankind. They all lie in wait for blood, and each hunts the other with the net. Their hands are on what is evil to do it well. Note the breadth of what Micah says about the godly, or the faithful as the NIV translated, or the good man as the King James Version translated, and the upright or righteous person. Verse two says that they've perished, they've been exterminated from the earth. Notice also that there is no upright person among mankind. In essence, Micah is saying that one can look all you want, but you will not be able to find a godly or righteous person. This language is similar to what we see in Psalm 14, verses 1 through 3, and also Psalm 53, where we read, the fool says in his heart, there is no good, there is no God, they are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside. Together they have become corrupt. There is none who does good, not even one." The Apostle Paul will state similar themes and use similar language in the opening chapters of the Book of Romans, showing the universal depravity of mankind. And as we continue in Micah 7, 2, 3, we are told that instead of being godly, righteous men, all men, and note that there is no exception given, all men are self-seeking in that they lie in wait for blood. They hunt others and equip themselves to do it well by using nets, which could be used for hunting or fishing. and their hands seek to do evil well. Their hands don't just seek to do evil, they seek to do evil well. Similar language will be spoken by Jeremiah close to 100 years later as we read in Jeremiah 4.22, for my people are foolish. They know me not. They are stupid children. They have no understanding. They are wise in doing evil, but how to do good they know not. Later in Jeremiah 13.23 we read, can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Also, you can do good who are accustomed to do evil, meaning that there is no way that you can change your ways. And not only does the list of Israel sin detail universal depravity, this list also details the depravity seen in authority. Look at the second part of verse three. It says the prince and the judge ask for a bribe. The great man utters the evil desire of his soul. Thus they weave it together. The best of them is like a briar. The most upright of them a thorn hedge. The day of your watchmen, your punishment has come. Now their confusion is at hand. The third chapter of Micah went into great depth in describing the disastrous results of Israel and Judah's unrighteous leaders. And it was the end of that pronouncement of judgment against Judah's leaders that we read in Micah 3.12, therefore because of you, meaning because of these unrighteous leaders, Zion shall be plowed as a field, Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height. If we remember from that study, that is the first prophecy of Jerusalem's being completely destroyed, found in scripture. In 7.3, we also read of what is detailed as Judah's leader's depravity, where we're told that the prince and the judge ask for a bribe. They don't uphold justice. They allow their own self-seeking, their own desire for wealth to guide their decisions. Micah then adds that the great man or the powerful man speaks the evil desire of his soul, and then we're told, thus they weave it together. I found Dale Ralph Davis's comment on this phrase, thus they weave it together, helpful when he said this in his commentary. All these powerful players weave it together. They cooperate on all levels and so neuter their opposition, drop them into the social rubbish skip and have their way. There is nothing theoretical about this in Micah's time or ours. I've read that public security officials entered the residence of a Chinese evangelist and beat one of his sons with iron bats for almost a half an hour. His mother called an ambulance, but the receptionist told the mother that a higher government authority had given her instructions not to dispatch an ambulance for her son. They weave it together. Ask Christians in Egypt or in India what happens when Muslim men kidnap a Christian girl or when Hindu extremists attack and maul an assembly of worshiping Christians. Strangely enough, the police merely stand by and or they never seem to get to the bottom of it. So they weave it together. These leaders, these rulers, these people in authority work together to oppress, to take advantage of, to devour the people. And these leaders that Davis describes in his commentary are like the leaders described by Micah as well. They use their power as the means for achieving their self-seeking ends. Micah further highlights the injury that these leaders caused by indicating in verse four, the best of them is like a briar, the most upright of them, a thorn hedge. Briars and thorn hedges will injure you simply by encountering them. You reach into a briar, you're going to get pricked by thorns. You reach into a thorn hedge, you're going to be pricked by thorns. The best of these leaders will cause injury. The most upright of these leaders will do harm. These were the effects of the rulers and leaders who were to be sources of blessing to the people as God's representatives to the nation. These rulers and leaders were also to provide direction to the people. But instead, verse four ends by saying, the day of your watchmen, of your punishment has come. Now their confusion is at hand. Here Micah indicates that God's judgment is going to come. judgment that he has been pronouncing, that other prophets will pronounce. God has made it known through his watchmen that he will bring judgment upon the nation. But instead of heeding God's warnings, these rulers and leaders continued in their schemes, and once God's judgment comes upon the nation, their response will be confusion. They will not know what to do. They haven't followed the word of God. And as this section of the passage ends, Micah details the depravity that is seen in friends and family. Look at verse five. Put no trust in a neighbor. Have no confidence in a friend. Guard the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms. The son treats the father with contempt. The daughter rises up against her mother. The daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. Man's enemies are the men of his own house. Here we see how sin has gone into even the closest relationships that one can think. Their neighbor. their friend, their wife, their son or their daughter, the daughter-in-law, the people of a man's house. So that wouldn't necessarily even be just the family members, but even the servants who are there to serve. Because of sin, there was no trust no love and division even in these relationships which one could say form the very foundation of society. Approximately 100 years later, Jeremiah will say this in Jeremiah 9 verses four through six, let everyone beware of his neighbor and put no trust in any brother for every brother is a deceiver. And every neighbor goes about as a slanderer. Everyone deceives his neighbor and no one speaks the truth. They have taught their tongue to speak lies. They weary themselves committing iniquity, heaping oppression upon oppression and deceit upon deceit. They refuse to know me, declares the Lord. So we see that heart of man hasn't changed. Man has gone from evil to evil to evil, from Micah's generation to Jeremiah's generation as well. But as Christians, we should not be surprised of this conflict that occurs within these close relationships. For we're told by Christ himself, as he speaks, In Matthew 10, 34 through 36, he says, do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. And what will be the source of that contention but the household's division because one is a follower of Christ and one is still steeped in the depravity of their sin. They are rejecting Christ. So as we look at verses two through six, depravity is seen universally. Depravity is seen in those in authority. Depravity is seen in close relationships. Charles Feinberg summarized these verses well with this statement, when God is not honored as he should be, no human bond can survive. When God is not honored as he should be, no human bond can survive. Verses one through six paint a very dark picture of the spiritual condition of Micah's day. Sin is running rampant throughout Judah. The Assyrian threat is growing in strength. And it could be easy for someone, especially someone concerned with the glory of God as Micah was, to fall into despair. However, There's a three-letter word used often throughout the Bible that changes everything. Some examples are Genesis 6, 7, and 8. So the Lord said, I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I'm sorry that I've made them. But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. Genesis 50, 20 says, as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good. And then in Ephesians chapter two, verse one, we read, and you were dead in the trespasses and sins. And then we read in verse four, but God being rich in mercy. The same way that these verses shine light into great darkness through that word, but the last verse of the passage does the same. So we see confident hope declared. Look at verse seven. But as for me, I will look to the Lord. I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me. The words that open, verse seven, we see Micah's focus turn from his sorrow of the sin that he sees all around him, the depravity that he sees all around him as his focus turns from that and turns to God. He states that he will look to God. He states that he will wait for God. That waiting for God can also be translated as hoping in and trusting in the God of his salvation. Note Micah's personalization of the salvation that he recognizes has been granted by God. And note how Micah calls God, my God. And as the passage closes, Micah confidently states that God will hear him. confident hope declared. And so that brings us to our next question. What does verse seven look like in the life of the Christian? What does verse seven look like in the life of the Christian? Terry. OK? Prayer is a part of our looking to Him and trusting in Him. Enoch. What would be a hope for us that Jesus would be coming? Yes, there is hope. It's not despair, not utter hopelessness. There is hope. Caleb. Prayer was already mentioned. And in the life's standard version, in the first line it says, I'll watch expectantly for Yahweh. in our waiting for God, it's expected. And Ephesians 3, 20 talks about how God is able to do far more than we're able to ask or understand. And so that's what we're expecting Him to do, is great things. Yes. When it talks about waiting upon the Lord, it neither means idly sitting by, waiting for God to do something, Nor does it mean that we're taking matters into our own hands, but we are expectant in our waiting for God. We are expecting him to do something as we seek him, as we focus on him, as we look to him through his word, and as we seek strength from him through prayer. Anyone else? Yes, Priya. Chapter 3, the last part of it, you really did amplify the soul. You build confidence in God. In one of our situations where they're in, the Amplifier said, I have a first signal of bravery. Yes, yes, yes. Interestingly, I have Habakkuk 3.17 and 18 in my notes. And this is what it says. So the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines. The produce of the olive fail, and the fields yield no food. The flock be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls. Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will take joy in the God of my salvation. All other things can be taken away. Society can be falling apart. Think about what Micah is going through, what the nation is going through. He's seen the Northern Kingdom destroyed already. They have the Assyrians going through their land. No one is taking any of this seriously. Preaching to a people that are not listening about the judgment that is about to come upon them. Hopeless situation. One could get very easily to a point of absolute despair. And yet, he turns to God. But as for me, I will look to God. I will wait for God. And I'm confident. Notice that he doesn't say, God may hear me. He says, God will hear me. There's a confidence. Turn to Psalm 55. Psalm 55. And this is a psalm of David, but in many ways it illustrates what verse 7 looks like in the life of the believer. says to the choir master with string instruments a maskill of David. Give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy. Attend to me and answer me. I am restless in my complaint, and I moan because of the noise of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked, for they drop trouble upon me. In anger, they bear a grudge against me. My heart is in anguish within me. The terrors of death have fallen upon me. Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me. And I say, oh Lord, that I had wings like a dove. I would fly away and be at rest. Yes, I would wander far away. I would lodge in the wilderness. I would hurry to find a shelter in the raging wind and tempest. Destroy, O Lord, divide their tongues, for I see violence and strife in the city. Day and night they go around it on its walls, and iniquity and trouble are within it. Ruin is in its midst. Oppression and fraud do not depart from its marketplace, for it is not an enemy who taunts me. Then I could bear it. It is not an adversary who deals insolently with me. Then I could hide from him. But it is you, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend. We used to take sweet counsel together. Within God's house, we walked in the throng. Let death steal over them, let them go down to Sheol alive, for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart. But I call to God, and the Lord will save me. Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan and he hears my voice. He redeems my soul and safety from the battle that I wage. For many are arrayed against me. God will give ear and humble them who is enthroned from of old because they do not change and do not fear God. My companion stretched out his hand against his friends. He violated his covenant. His speech was smooth as butter, yet war was in his heart. His words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords. Cast your burden on the Lord and he will sustain you. He will never permit the righteous to be moved. You, O God, will cast them down into the pit of destruction. Men of blood and treachery shall not live out half their days. but I will trust in you. David trusted in the Lord. Micah trusted in the Lord. The other prophets of old trusted in the Lord, though no one seemed to be seeking God, though there was great darkness around them. And Delrath Davis, I thought, summarized this last verse of our passage tonight in the context of verses one through six by stating, here in verse seven, the prophet not only cries over ruin, but confesses his faith in the midst of that ruin. He not only bemoans, but believes, not only laments, but looks to Yahweh. He's not only crying over the ruin that he sees, but he's confessing his faith in the midst of it. He's not only bemoaning the situation, but he's believing God. He's not only lamenting, but he's looking to Yahweh. We have one more question, but we are running out of time quickly. So I will provide thoughts for application of these truths that we've seen in this passage to our lives. And the first one is that we should be affected by the state of the world. We should be affected by the state of the world. Are we saddened by the sin that we see around us? Not because of its effects on us, and they can be negative, but ultimately because God is being dishonored. Are we concerned with the honor of God? Are we concerned that all around us We see sin running rampant and none seemingly looking to God and turning to him and seeking to honor him. Secondly, we should seek to live lives that are the opposite of what is described in verses 1 through 6. That certainly was our testimony before Christ. but by the power of the Holy Spirit we have been brought into newness of life. our lives should be marked in its being different from verses 1 through 6. Philippians 1, 9 through 11 says, and it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more with knowledge and all discernment so that you may approve what is excellent and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ filled with the fruit of righteousness. that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God. We saw in verse one that Micah could not find any fruit, could not find any fruit of righteousness, no evidence of people living for God. Well, we are to be a people who are filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ. We are to be reminded here Micah states that God is his God and the salvation that he has been given is the salvation that God has given to him. That God is personal. Our salvation is personal. Micah refers to God as the God of my salvation and he is my God. We should rejoice in this salvation. And that indeed we were once numbered with those who are in verses 1 through 6. But because of God's grace we have been brought into right relationship with him through Christ. And now we can, by the power of the Spirit, live lives that do honor God and that do bring glory to his name. And though we may lament like Micah, we can have a confident hope that God is indeed always in control, that he is indeed working all things together for our good and for his glory, and that all that will take place in time ultimately leads to his expected end for all things, which is ultimately the glory of his name. So we will see the defeat of his enemies and the glorification of his people. Well, as we close, are there any final comments or any questions? Let us pray. Our God and Father, we live in a fallen world. We see the effects of sin all around us, and we see, even in our own hearts, the remnants of that sin in our own flesh as we fight against our sin. Lord, one can become hopeless when looking at the vastness of the sin and the pervasiveness of it. We pray that as we have read your word tonight, that you would cause us Be like the prophet Micah who indeed lamented the situation and lamented all that he saw around him, but turned his eyes to you. Indeed, he believed you, that he looked to you, that he waited for you, that he trusted in you and continually hoped in you. And Lord, I pray that you would help us to be a people who are in the world but are not of it. People who desire to see your name glorified, your name hallowed. To see you to be feared by all. And so Lord, help us to be found faithful in declaring the gospel. Help us to be found faithful in living out the gospel. And Lord, help us to be living with an eternal perspective, understanding that you are indeed working through all of the things that occur in our lives and in your world. Lord, we do pray that you would help us to bear the fruit of righteousness in our lives as a result of what we have studied tonight. And Lord, we do pray that all things that are occurring in our world, all the things that are occurring in our individual lives. Lord, we would commit to you and that we would look to you, expecting you to work for your glory. We do pray all of these things in Jesus' name, amen.