And He Will Be Their Peace

Micah 4:1-5:5

Key Verse 5:5

Today we would like to think about Jesus who came to prepare for us a living environment. 

Part I. Everyone under his own vine and fig tree [The need]

When God created the world, the first thing he did was to prepare an environment in which life can prosper. We see this as the case in Genesis 1-2. 

In our real life setting, businessmen, such as realtors know it better. Among realtors, there are three words they emphasize all the time: location, location, and location. 

When I first moved to Downey, the first question I asked the realtor across the street was, “Is Downey safe?” The realtor said, “You bet.” Then he added, “Downey is a rose among thorns.” As I have been living in Downey, I have found that it is indeed a good place to live. Crime reports on each city of this nation indicate that Downey is safer than Beverly Hills, or other cities like Compton or Los Angeles. 

God’s servants, like the Apostle Paul, recognize the importance of the living environment, so he said in 1Ti 2:1-4 that our goal should be to live a quiet and peaceful life in all godliness and holiness. In 1 Thessalonians 4:11 he even says, “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you.” 

King David appreciated the significance of a living environment, so in a poetic tone in Psalm 23, he describes it as “green pastures with quiet waters.” 

In the same way in Micah 4:4 the Prophet Micah describes a living environment. Micah 4:4: “Every man will sit under his own vine and under his own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for the Lord Almighty has spoken.” 

Part II. Why do you now cry? [The reality]

Although we are badly in need of a safe environment, the present reality indicates that life here on earth is getting increasingly unsafe. 

 

In Modern Times, a book by historian Paul Johnson, Johnson explains that in the last 100 years the world has gone through violence after violence. As we already know we went through World War I, World War II, and many are apprehensive of World War III coming down on us.

In order to understand the gruesome reality we are in, all we need to do is simply find what the following words have in common: Rambo, Al-Qaeda, Bin Laden, Hijackers, and the collapse of the World Trade Center. They are all related to violence causing the environment to be unsafe.  

The causes of the environment becoming dangerous are mostly man-made. Reports indicate that American homes are getting increasingly unsafe. Husbands beat wives, wives beat or murder husbands, parents are violent to their children, and children sue parents. 

This is true in all other sectors of life in America. Think about Hollywood movies, and how they make movies full of violence, sex, and profanity. This is increasingly true with movies made even for kids. According to a study by researchers from the Kids Risk Project at the Harvard School of Public Health, violence, sex, and profanity increased significantly in movies [made for kids] between 1992 and 2003. And there are video games for children that are very violent.  

At the Downey center, I saw children playing video games, and a lot of them involve kicking, cutting, thrusting, slashing, and killing. And when they play, they carry weapons like machine guns, clubs, and plastic knives.

In the day of the Prophet Micah, both the Northern Kingdom Israel (called Samaria) and the Southern Kingdom (called Judah) were beset by war-like nations. Living about 750 years before Christ in a small town called Moresheth, which was south of Jerusalem, Micah predicted the downfall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple, which was fulfilled by the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in about 586 BC and again by the Romans in 70 AD. The Temple has not been rebuilt since that destruction. Jerusalem was destroyed a second time by the Romans in about 135 AD. Since then Jerusalem has been beset by waves of violence after violence. 

Part III. He will stand and shepherd his flock [The solution]

Thank God that He came up with a program for us. The Lord understands our problem so he developed a program. This program is couched in one person named Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. Long before the birth of the Savior the Prophet Micah prophesied that the Savior would be born in Bethlehem of Israel. In the passage for today he also described the beautiful picture of the work the Savior is going to fulfill. 

“In the last days the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and peoples will stream to it.” Here the word “mountain” is symbolic of Jesus himself. The word “chief” is suggestive of Jesus being supreme in all aspects of the ways of life, especially in his ability to make the environment safe. 

The Prophet continues to say, “Many nations will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways,        so that we may walk in his paths.’ The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. Every man will sit under his own vine and under his own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for the Lord Almighty has spoken.” 

This prophecy sets forth three steps in which we can avail ourselves to this vision becoming a reality for us. 

First, come

The first thing we need to do is to come to the mountain of the Lord’s temple, which is to come to Jesus Christ. When Jesus came this was what he asked his followers to do, for upon beginning his public ministry Jesus went out to the Sea of Galilee and invited people like Galilean fishermen. One of the first ones he called was Simon Peter and said, “Come, follow me, I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19)

Jesus then kept inviting people saying, “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

Here, “Come to me,” means come to Jesus Christ. Revelation 3:20 is more specific on this point, for it reads, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” This is what we need to do. 

In addition, people come to Jesus by us inviting them to the fellowship with Jesus Christ. The early disciples did the same thing. Phillip was one of the first disciples who responded to Jesus’ invitation. Upon finding Jesus as the Savior he went to his friend Nathanael, and said, “Come and see.” 

In the same way sisters brought sisters to Jesus. In John 4 after a Bible study with Jesus, a Samaritan woman saw that Jesus is the Savior, so she said to all the townspeople saying, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" 

On December 17, we are going to have a Christmas worship service at the USC Bouvard Hall. The first floor alone has 500 seats. Let us go around the college campuses and diligently invite people to the service. Shepherd William Larsen made a beautiful invitation card. USC Coworkers also were able to make a reservation at a nice on campus restaurant where we can have a lunch fellowship after the worship. But in so doing let us first come to our Lord Jesus and His words, for we have prepared lectures on Christmas message in four lessons. 

Second, learn

The second step is for us to learn of Him. The Prophet Micah said of people streaming to Jesus, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways…” Here the word “teach” tells us that we must come to Jesus and learn of him. Teaching becomes effective only if we have a learning mind. In learning, we need to focus on the subjects of the study, that is, learning His ways. Let us turn to our neighbor and say, “He will teach us his ways…” “His ways” means the ways which Jesus believes in. Jesus has his ways. We have our own ways. 

There are different ways in which we can get things done. Frank Sinatra sang a song, “My Way;” where he says, “I did it my way.” Michael Jackson became a rock star and he had his own way to dance; so through his “moon-walk” style, he became extremely successful. 

But as far as a living environment is concerned, the environment in which man can enjoy a quiet, peaceful life in all godliness and holiness, we must learn of Jesus’ ways. Last weekend one friend of mine visited my house. He then urged me to memorize the entire book of Romans, for this book teaches us the essence of the way of Jesus. Another friend of mine is now endeavoring to memorize Jesus’ sermons on the mount. This is also a good way to learn of Jesus’ way. And there many examples of people who struggle to learn of Jesus’ ways. In so learning let us remember that Jesus is big. So we must commit ourselves to learning of Jesus all the days of life, through Bible studies, teaching the Bible, through careers, through reading books, etc. 

Third, walk 

The final station for us to see the vision becoming a reality for us is to walk in his paths. Think about the way God created us. We have a brain that sits on top of our shoulders. Then we have all other bodily parts. At the bottom we have two feet which we walk with. So walking in his paths is the final stage. It is to translate into action what we learn of Jesus. It is to implement (or practice) what Jesus teaches us. For example, Jesus says that to give is more blessed than to receive. So with our hands we give something to others (such as kind words, materials, or our services). As we keep doing this, God will gradually change our living environment. 

The next effect of all this (with all peoples on earth practicing what Jesus came to teach) will be a perfect environment where life will prosper. 

Conclusion: We celebrate the birth of the Savior born in Bethlehem of Judea. He came to provide for us a living environment in which we can live peacefully and quietly, in all godliness and holiness. About 8 centuries before the birth of the Christ the Prophet Micah saw this vision and shared it in the passage. But this vision will not come true for us unless we go for it. And we learned that daily we must come to the Lord, learn of him, and walk in His paths. As we accept Him as the Lord and Savior and walk in His paths, then he himself will be our peace, the peace that transcends all [human] understanding. 

One word: He will be their peace

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