Corruption: A Path to Nowhere Micah 3:1-12

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Corruption A Path to NowhereMicah 31-12

• 1. Act on What You Know
• (Mic. 31-2)
• 2. Avoid Materialisms Lure
• (Mic. 35-7)
• 3. Affirm Accountability
• (Mic. 39-12)

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1. Act on What You Know (Mic. 31-2)

• 1 Then I said Now listen, leaders of Jacob, you
  rulers of the house of Israel. Arent you
  supposed to know what is just?
• 2 You hate good and love evil. You tear off the
  skin of people and strip their flesh from their
  bones.

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1. Act on What You Know (Mic. 31-2) Civil
Leaders robbed

• They robbed
• 1. Turn away from greed
• Supposed to lead the people to obey the laws,
  the divine revelations of Gods will, by command
  and by example they CONTRADICTED God.
• 2. Uphold the moral code God expected of the
  nation.
• Supposed to pursue righteousness and avoid
  wickedness instead they had come to hate good and
  love evil. Their actions were hypocritical and
  opposed to Gods will and His laws. Those who
  love the Lord are to hate evil (Ps. 9710 Amos
  515).

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2. Avoid Materialisms Lure (Mic. 35-7)

• 5 This is what the LORD says concerning the
  prophets who lead my people astray, who proclaim
  peace when they have food to sink their teeth
  into but declare war against the one who puts
  nothing in their mouths.
• 6 Therefore, it will be night for youwithout
  visions it will grow dark for youwithout
  divination. The sun will set on these prophets,
  and the daylight will turn black over them.
• 7 Then the seers will be ashamed and the diviners

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2. Avoid Materialisms Lure (Mic. 35-7)
Spiritual Leaders-Deceptive

• 1. Turn from Man - corruption
• Corruption distorted truth. True prophets
  received revelation from the Lord and preached
  it, rebuked civil rulers when they personally
  failed to live moral lives who lead my people
  astray.
• 2. Turned to God receive fresh revelation.
• Disobedient prophets would remain in spiritual
  darkness without visions and without divination
  the ignorance of spiritual truth and their lack
  of revelation from the Lord.

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• Insight
• Greed and materialism continue to shape the
  messages of many false religious leaders. Many
  offer cures or guaranteed prosperity if
  contributors will give money to them.
• Johns warning to the early church to test the
  spirits (1 John 41) and Pauls admonition to
  Timothy to beware of the love of money (1 Tim.
  36-10) are applicable today. Acquaint yourself
  with Gods Word and do not be deceived.
• The love of money offers many temptations that
  can corrupt a pure ministry.
• The fear of rejection can lead some to preach or
  teach only those principles that people want to
  hear. Avoiding sin and judgment is a way to be
  popular with sinners but not with God. We must
  always convey the truth without regard for the
  cost. There can be no permanent success when we
  suppress the truth of Gods Word.

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3. Affirm Accountability (Mic. 39-12)

• 9 Listen to this, leaders of the house of Jacob,
  you rulers of the house of Israel, who abhor
  justice and pervert everything that is right,
• 10 who build Zion with bloodshed and Jerusalem
  with injustice.
• 11 Her leaders issue rulings for a bribe, her
  priests teach for payment, and her prophets
  practice divination for money. Yet they lean on
  the LORD, saying, Isnt the LORD among us? No
  calamity will overtake us.
• 12 Therefore, because of you, Zion will be plowed
  like a field, Jerusalem will become ruins, and
  the hill of the temple mount will be a thicket.

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3. Affirm Accountability (Mic. 39-12)

• Where there was no accountability Darkness falls
• 1. Abhor (hate) justice is amounting to no
  respect for God.
• 2. Pervert everything that is right
• Sin is a perversion of something good. Lies are a
  perversion of truth. Adultery is a perversion of
  marriage. Betrayal is a perversion of loyalty.
  The leaders had fallen down a slippery slope of
  personal ambition and everything they did was
  tainted by sin.
• Just how far had they fallen

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• They would say and do anything for those who
  paid.
• They professed loyalty to the Lord and claimed
  the Lord is among us, meaning their messages were
  from God and according to His will. They gave
  assurances the people were safe and no calamity
  would overtake them. Supposed to be like watchmen
  on the wall who would warn the people of
  impending judgment they were silent and deceptive
  (Isa. 5610). Because they did not do their job,
  the people would perish.
• Jerusalem, a large and secure city with
  magnificent buildings, including the temple built
  by Solomon would be judged, became like a plowed
  field. The buildings would be reduced to ruins
  and the glorious temple mount would become a
  thicket. No on could have imagined.

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• Conclusion.
• Money and greed would continue to plague our
  society, church until God is restored to His
  rightful place.
• Churches and ministries must be open about their
  finances and accountable.
• The teachers of Gods truth must be people of
  integrity and un-compromise with the message and
  life. We are ultimately accountable to the Lord
  for our ministries, and we can be sure He will
  judge us impartially.
• Actions
• Please God in fulfilling God-given
  responsibilities by
• Holding to the ethical standards He has revealed
  in His Word.
• Focusing on our assignments rather than on
  material gain.
• Affirming our accountability to Him.