Episode 168: Dwelling Secure In Shaky Times | Brian Morgan+

Good morning. Great to see everybody today. Merry early Christmas. We are on this Advent journey, traveling to the manger scene, joining all these different characters along the way. This morning, we're going to be traveling with the wise men.

Now, if you know the story, the wise men showed up after Jesus was born, but they had a long journey. On that journey, they left before he was born and they left with a promise. They read about what was going to happen and they said, "Hey, let's make this journey based on what we're reading."

But first, let me share a little-known historical fact about the wise men. There was a fourth wise man who was turned away for bringing a fruitcake. So in case you didn't know that historical fact!

But in all honesty, we are traveling with the wise men this morning, and they would have traveled hundreds of miles, if not thousands of miles. We're not exactly sure. The scripture says they came from the East. But they were coming based on a promise. They risked their life based on what this promise said.

Have you ever risked your life on a promise? Have you ever gone out on a limb because of some promise that you heard? For example: "I promise if I get this new job change, our family will be in a really great place like it's never been before." Have you heard that? Have you said that?

"I promise, just one more business trip will change our family."

"One more trip to Target, I'll be able to get everything I need." Anybody said that one before? You get more than you need, right? But that's another story.

How about this one? "I swear, I promise I will not shoot another deer from the deck of my house." Oh, I'm sorry, Quig. You're not promising that? That's awesome.

How about this one? "I promise I'll never have another drink of alcohol."

How about this? "I promise I won't stay out late again and not call you."

How about this one? "I promise I'll be a better spouse or a better friend or a better child."

Or maybe some of these—these are promises that we hear that we often believe. "Mister Smith, I promise you, your cable bill will never go up again. Ever." Ever heard that one before? Or the phone bill.

Or this one: "Missus Jones, those tires are going to last you 40,000 miles, I promise you."

Or how about this one from your grandmother: "If you're just a good boy and girl and do all the right things, I promise you life's going to turn out great." Ever tried that before? That's not true, right? Life is a lot harder than that.

Or maybe there are promises you make to yourself that only you and God know about, but you know they're shifty. You say them, but you don't really know if they're going to come true or if you can even make them come true.

Or how about these promises: "God, I promise you I will never do that again." "God, I promise you that I will make amends with that person as long as they make the first step." "God, I swear this time, I'll do it right."

All of those are promises that we say or others have said to us. The question is: Are they strong enough? Are they stable enough? Or are we basing our life on some really flimsy, shaky promises?

What promises are you building your life upon? Are they strong enough? Are they wise enough? Are they big enough?

Let's pray as we start. Father, we're grateful that you are big enough, wise enough, strong enough. We pray that by your Holy Spirit, you would bring scripture alive for us, shoot it like a fiery arrow into our souls, in Christ's name, amen.

If you're a visitor, we do want to welcome you. Tim already welcomed you, but if you're a visitor or maybe you've been visiting for quite a while, but you're on this journey, you're trying to figure out who Jesus is. My question for you this morning is: What's bringing you back? What's having you come again to join us, maybe for the first time? Why are you exploring?

Ask yourself some of these questions this morning about your foundation. Why are you coming? Are you realizing the foundation you're on is pretty shaky, and so you're coming to check out a different foundation? Listen, we've all been there, and many of us are there still. So we are glad that you are here this morning.

We're starting our story in Matthew chapter two. This is where the wise men come into the story. Again, Jesus was already born, but they're on the journey to get there. And what's interesting is, on the journey, they see and they read and they hear of a promise.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold wise men from the East came to Jerusalem saying, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and we have come to worship him." — Matthew 2

So they are declaring, "Who is this one? Where is he? We've heard about him who is to be born." And then Herod, the ruler there, he gets a little nervous about it, and there's this discussion. Then they say, "Hey, don't you know this scripture that's been spoken about this one?" And that's where we land in Micah.

So if you got a Bible, turn over to Micah with me. The Bible right in front of you is page 778, if you're using the church Bible. We always encourage you to bring out your Bible—you can use your phone if you want. It's much better if you follow along in the Scripture, how the words kind of jump out at the page.

The Prophet Micah and the Promise

As you're turning over to Micah chapter five, here's the story of Micah. Micah was a prophet for a very long time—and I don't mean he was tall, but he prophesied for a long time, from about July to June. And like many of the prophets in the Old Testament, Israel was caught in a cycle. God called them and they obeyed, and then they disobeyed, and then God brought judgment and God brought forgiveness and restored them. They got caught in the cycle again.

Remember, it's about seven hundred years before Jesus comes, and they're caught in this cycle. So Micah the prophet speaks words of judgment, words of warning, words of calling them back to God. But he also speaks words of hope. He also speaks words of promise.

So that's where we pick it up—Micah chapter five, verse one.

Now, muster your troops, O daughter of troops, siege is laid against us. With a rod, they strike the judge of Israel on the cheek. — Micah 5:1

Whoa. It starts out with this difficult word: "O Israel, muster your troops, but the siege is already upon you. Israel, God is bringing judgment on you, they're gonna strike you on the face." That's a tough way to start. I'm sure Israel's like, "Whoa, what? What do you mean? Why? Why this difficult word?"

But then in verse two is where the promise begins. Remember—judgment, words of calling back, but also words of promise. And these are the words that the wise men spoke to Herod. So back in Matthew, Herod asked these questions, and the wise men said, "Don't you know about this passage we read in Micah?" Here's the passage:

But you, O Bethlehem, Ephathra, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who's to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from old, from ancient of days. — Micah 5:2

This beginning promise begins with the where. God makes his promise and he says, "I'm bringing something new, a promised one will come. And he's coming from Bethlehem," this small little city, this tiny spot on the map. Now what's interesting is Bethlehem is called the city of David. And the promise had always been that the promise would come from David's line. So here, out of this tiny little city, in the midst of the difficult judgment they were experiencing, God said, "I am bringing one who will come from this small little city, but will come from the line of David."

What else does it say? "From you shall come forth from me, one who is to be ruler in Israel." This one to come, this one promised, is to be the ruler of God's people. So you can see, for the wise men as they're waiting to figure out who this Jesus is, they're believing that somehow there's something in the manger here that's gonna be massive and be a ruler of God's people. And they were Gentiles—they weren't part of God's family—and yet they had this incredible faith to take the journey.

But seven hundred years earlier in Micah, they're saying, "God, you're gonna send this person and it's gonna be a ruler of your people? How can that be? What kind of ruler?"

Let's continue on:

From you shall come forth from me, one who should be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. — Micah 5:2

This one to come is not gonna be a new kid on the block. It's not gonna be one that's raised up really quickly. It's not gonna be the flashy one that everybody wants to follow. Instead, it's one that's coming from past promises. It's one that's coming from a long history, deep roots in the past. It's one that's coming from a strong family lineage. Hebrew translators say it's one that's coming from everlasting and from eternity.

Building Your Life on Promises

So let's talk about promises. I asked you to think about what promises are you building your life on? Are those promises short-lived? Are those promises that were made and based on maybe just a few years ago? Do you wanna base your whole life on a promise that just got created a few years ago? Or do you wanna base your life on a promise that was made from somebody long, long ago? In fact, from eternity, from times in the past.

So they're waiting, they're traveling, the wise men. They're hearing this message. Micah continues to speak—God through him.

Verse three, therefore, they're probably getting excited. He shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth. This is another word of judgment. I'm gonna give up my people. I'm gonna give them to their enemies. I'm gonna let them be in judgment. Until when though? Until they get their act together? Until they're spiritually mature? Until they've attended the synagogue enough? No. When? Until she who is in labor has given birth. Pointing to some type of birth experience, some type of manger scene.

What about this child? What do we know about this child? What do we know about this birth? Let's continue to read. Therefore, verse three, he shall give them up until this time when she who is in labor has given birth, then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel. At that time, all the rest of God's family will return.

And then we land at verse four. Verse four is really the nugget of the day. Verse four is the one where it says, not only the what but the why of what this promise is all about.

So look at verse four, and he, who's he? The promised one that Micah's declaring and he shall stand. — Micah 5:4

Are you too tired to stand? You feel like the burdens of your life are weighing you down and you're saying, I don't know if I can stand again with all the responsibilities in my life or the mistakes I made last week or this morning or last year and I don't know how to recover from those. I just don't think I can continue to stand and hold it all up. Micah says, the one who is to come, he will stand. He will stand.

What does that mean, he will stand? It literally means he will continue to endure over and over into eternity. He will pass the test of time. He will ride the waves of history until it's all complete. That's what this promised one is about.

If you're here and you're saying, look, I don't know if I can stand anymore at the end of this year. I don't know if I can keep all my ducks in a row. Well, come join the rest of us. Try your best to stand on your own. Is that a promise that is strong enough for you to last?

He continues, and he shall stand and how shall he stand?

And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. — Micah 5:4

Not only will he stand and ride the waves of history to the end, he will stand and he will shepherd God's people. He will protect them, he will call them, he will gather them in from the right and from the left.

Are the promises that you're building your life upon, are they shepherding you or are they beating you down? Are the promises that you're building your foundation upon, is it causing the foundation to be shaky? Or do the promises guard you, guide you? Because the promises you're giving everything to, do they know you by name?

I know my sheep. The sheep hear my voice.

He continues, he says:

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. — Micah 5:4

Is your strength spent? Great. That's a great place to be. If you're here today and you're saying, I am done with all my strength, I cannot hold it together anymore, that's a great place to be because there's a shepherd who is here and he's here to shepherd you, to stand for you in the strength of his Father.

The Mental Health Crisis

This past week, the New York Times has been doing a survey of healthcare workers and mental counselors and psychologists and asking those in the mental health profession, how is the pandemic playing out for folks in the US in specific? They interviewed over 1,300 different mental health experts and here's some of what they came up with.

As Americans headed into the third year of the pandemic, therapists around the country are finding themselves on the front lines of the mental health crisis. Social workers, psychologists and counselors from every state are saying there is such a demand they cannot take any more new patients and yet the demand is greater and greater for people needing help.

The general overall issues are anxiety and depression, loneliness and isolation. Marriage and relationships are struggling. Children are seeing the highest rates of stress, fear and anxiety. Most people are looking for support and for help.

One of the therapists says this: "There is so much grief and loss in these last months. One of my clients who's usually patient is experiencing road rage. Another client who is a mom to two teens is fearful and doesn't even want them to go outside the house. My highly work motivated client is considering leaving a career. There's an overwhelming sense of malaise and fatigue."

And Micah says, there is a shepherd who will stand and God has made the promise that he's coming.

You see, all throughout the scripture, Micah is painting this picture, he's dropping these breadcrumbs saying, do you see this one who's coming? Do you understand this one who's coming? So when the wise men read it, that's why they go on the journey. They're saying, we're willing to risk everything on this promise to see if it's come true.

And God, the God of the scriptures, is a promise keeping God. And Micah understands and expresses and Jesus owns and lives into that he is that promised one. Who says he's the great shepherd? Jesus. Who do we know that will stand tall till the end of time? Jesus. Jesus declares by his death, by his life, by his resurrection that he, in fact, is the one Micah has promised. Jesus fulfills over 300 prophecies about the coming one, twenty seven in one day alone, saying, this is who you're waiting for, I am he.

Do you know that God is a promise keeping God? He keeps his promise, he knows us by name, he's a lover of people, God is for you not against you. Tim Keller says this:

The great basis of Christian assurance is not how much our hearts are set on God, but how unshakably God's heart is set on us.

Let me say it again. The great basis of Christian assurance is not how much our hearts are set on God, but how unshakably God's heart is set on us. It's because God is a promise keeper. It's because God sends the one to go find the lost. Because God says, even in judgment, oh Israel, I am sending one who will be a shepherd, who will stand, who will provide a foundation that you can base your life upon.

Dwelling Secure

Now, what about for those who are receiving the promise? Continue on in verse four. So far, we've had this whole litany of all these things that God will do in this promised one. But what about those who are on the receiving end? Those who are connected to the shepherd. Those who deeply, intimately know and walk with the shepherd. We'll start at verse four again.

And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, his flock and the strength of Lord in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God and they shall dwell secure. — Micah 5:4

When's the last time that you felt like you could stand secure, that you could dwell secure in your life? When's the last time you said, I'm not gonna take any tums before I go to bed because you got so much anxiousness going on? When's the last time you didn't wake up at three and say, can't go back to bed because I feel like I have to be the one to hold it all up. I have to be the shepherd to make sure my life is going in the right direction. And God is saying, I'm sending one and you can dwell secure in him.

Where are you dwelling secure? Are you at all dwelling secure? You can. You can dwell secure right now, today. In just a minute, we're gonna have a prayer time, opportunity to come forward to pray. You can go to the curve rail, pray by yourself, we'll have folks in the straight rail. Maybe you need to come forward and say, God, I have been building my life on the promises, not yours. I've been building my life on all these promises that I have made thinking I can make it happen, or promises that others have made hoping they're gonna make it happen. And God, I need your promises. Jesus, I need you.

Maybe you need to come forward this morning and just say, I can't imagine what it means to dwell secure in 2022. If you don't know what that's like, come forward, ask Jesus for it. Ask him for himself. I need you, Jesus, to dwell secure.

But there's one more, not just dwell secure.

And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth and he shall be their peace. — Micah 5:4

Lee Strobel, in his book on hope, what we're talking about today is hope. A belief, a trust that there is something coming next. Not a wish, something based on a solid foundation. Lee Strobel says this in his book, he says, Major Harold Kushner was a prisoner of the Viet Cong for more than five years and he was surrounded by all these other marines while they were in prison. And this one 24 year old prisoner marine, he made a deal with his captors, with the Viet Cong. And he said, the Viet Cong said, hey, if you come and you work for us, then we promise we're gonna let you out. And so the prisoner did that. He helped as being a good prisoner, he kinda helped the enemy. And then at one point, the prisoner realized the promises made to him were a lie. He was surviving on a lie. There's no way they were gonna let him free.

Kushner continues. He described what happened next to the marine. When the full realization of this took hold, the marine became a zombie, this strong 24 year old became a zombie. He refused to do all the work, he rejected all offers of food and encouragement, he simply lay on his cot, sucking his thumb, in a matter of weeks, he was dead. The cause of the prisoner's death might be summarized in one word, hopelessness. Professionals call it during World War two and Korean Vietnam, give it upness.

The despair that the life they were building, that the hope they were standing on was nothing but a shaky lie. This morning, we have an opportunity to come to one who is not shaky, to come to one who is strong, to come to one who has stood tall and at the end, he will stand tall. And he says this morning, come to me. Come to me. You can dwell secure in me. You can know peace in me.

Prayer

Let's pray. Father, this morning, we can't imagine there is something that will stand the test of time. We can't imagine there is a foundation that is sure and not shaky because everything we know in life is shaky. And yet you promise in Jesus that we can dwell secure. Come Lord Jesus, meet us as we come to the rail. Meet us as we call out to you. Maybe we need to repent from those old places we have laid our life upon. Maybe we need to come and just have you call us your child through faith. Come, Lord Jesus, meet us at the rail. In your name, amen.