Mapping 'Fault Lines' in America
Micah 3

Last time we saw that if America ceases to be Godly, she will cease to be great.  And our text says that if the worst happens … if we go under … if we are annihilated [think Babylon the great in Revelation, who was destroyed in one hour, and all the nations of the world watch in awe] … if the worst happens, and God judges our nation like we seem to be asking Him to do, so as not to have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah … if God’s patience finally gives way to His wrath, it will be the fault of three groups:

1.  The Politicians  2.  The Preachers  3.  The People

Let me explain these ‘fault lines’:

I love America, and make no apology for doing so. I enjoy her freedoms, especially in being free to worship the true and living God.  I would like to continue living here if at all possible.  I still believe the United States is the greatest country on the face of the earth in terms of God’s blessing upon it.  But I reserve the right to change my mind about the matter, just as our God does.  [other countries are now sending missionaries here!] 

I love America, but I don’t have to like the direction in which she is heading.  Might our country actually be facing God’s judgment for its offenses against him? If so, who is at fault?

I believe terrorism is a great threat to the USA.  We have opened our border and invited in millions of unvetted illegals.  We are asking for it.  But terrorism is not our greatest threat.  I know we have powerful enemies around the world, but the most powerful are much closer by.  I believe America’s greatest threat is not from without but from within.  We are our own enemy and I am convinced that God is much displeased with us as a nation.  He is assigning blame for sin and we must answer.  

In Micah 3, the prophet is concerned about something. He wants his nation to know that the God they serve is not only a God of love, mercy, and grace, but also a God of wrath and judgment…and though the Lord would rather bless and demonstrate love, and continue to extend His grace and mercy, there does indeed come a time when, because of sin and rebellion, God’s patience is exhausted. 

Eventually God will give a nation [or an individual] what they are demanding.  It happened in the pre-diluvian world of Noah’s time, and again at Sodom and Gomorrah. It even happened to God’s people, Israel.  Will He make an exception for our nation?

Micah speaks by the Spirit of God and points a bony finger at three distinct groups of people and says, “It’s Your Fault!”:

Micah desperately wants the people to understand that the God who loves sinners still hates sin. And sin must always be judged.  His holiness demands that.  Praise God that if you’re saved you will never be judged for your sins; they were judged 2,000 years ago on Calvary’s cross! But that does not mean we can live a careless, haphazard Christian life. The same Bible which teaches that we believers will not be judged for our sins also tells us that we will indeed be judged for how faithful we have been.  All individuals will one day be judged, and there is such a thing as the judgment of a nation.  

Micah 3:12 talks about a nation being “plowed as a field,” a metaphor for judgment.

No nation was as pure in its inception as the nation Israel— founded by God Himself in Genesis 12. And yet even Israel went corrupt, and the vast majority of the people were ignorant or indifferent concerning that corruption. For this reason the prophets of judgment came along, like Micah, calling the people and their leaders to repentance, and making them aware that the God who would rather bless will blast if His hand is forced.

I’m trying to be optimistic about our nation’s possibilities for the future, but I think we should be realistic.  And part of loving America is wanting to save her from a corruption that most of the “sheeple” are seemingly ignorant of…or at least indifferent to. [low info. voters]

Fault Line #1 - Corrupt Politicians

Henry Kissinger:  “The corrupt politicians are making the other 10% look bad!”
Micah 3:1-3: And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; Is it not for you to know judgment? Who hate the good, and love the evil; [woe unto them who say abortion is a good thing / or that letting a man beat up a woman is progress / or that mocking the Last Supper is art] who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones; Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them; and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron.

Reading these verses is like watching the nightly news.  NBC's Tom Brokaw used to do a weekly segment called "The Fleecing of America."  It highlighted the price Americans pay at the hands of leadership gone awry.  I think you could have put these three verses into his teleprompter and no one would have known the difference!

Here are six requirements God recommends for government leaders:
[From Proverbs]

1. Righteousness
 When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn. (Proverbs 29:2)

 It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness: for the throne is established by righteousness. (Proverbs 16:12)

Why is it that today we just look for skills and credentials, and not look for righteousness…or we look for personality, rather than for morality?

2. Wisdom
 I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions...by me kings reign, and princes decree justice.  By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth. (Proverbs 8:12-16)
You can’t have wisdom without the fear of the Lord…being saved!

3. Absolute Honesty
Excellent speech becometh not a fool: much less do lying lips a prince. (Proverbs 17:7)

Leaders and liars are not the same thing!  If a candidate has been a sheep-eating wolf all of her political career, should we believe her promises that she has now decided to become a vegetarian?

4. Separation from bad influences
Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer.  Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness. (Proverbs 25:4-5)

A leader must focus on what is right, not just public opinion or lobbying pressures.  And they cannot be the puppet of a PR team.

5. Personal Purity
Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings. (Proverbs 31:3)

If a candidate will not honor his/her marriage vows, what are they going to do with those “piddly little vows” of public trust?

6. Protection of the weak and the defenseless
Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction.  Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy. (Proverbs 31:8-9)

A leader is to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves, and defend those who cannot defend themselves.

A Biblical leader should stand tall on behalf of the unborn.  Some would say, “Abortion is legal in many states, and more are making plans to make it legal. And a leader is supposed to uphold the law!”  Certainly being legally right doesn’t make something morally right.

Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law? (Psalm 94:20)  “Oh, you have a law!”
 

We ought to obey God, rather than men!  Now, I want one of our youngest members to remind us why abortion is the single issue to consider this year… [video]

Right before our eyes we can see the ultimate in corruption going down.  The powers that be, the establishment, the real power brokers in DC, are so against one candidate that, when found to be losing the race, they will throw their democratically elected nominee under the bus, and appoint a successor in royal fashion without voting, dubbing them the chosen one, regardless of how inept, unqualified, and extreme they may be, because they meet their main qualifications of being a certain gender and race.  That is corruption.  So is weaponizing the justice system, and censoring the internet.  [try finding a positive story about the one or a negative about the other!]  Assassination might be their only choice!

Christians can control this vote.  We can decide who will be our leaders. 

When Micah warns the people that God is about to judge, he points first at the corrupt politicians, and says, "It’s your fault!"  And until we own our faults and fix them, there is no hope for a change.

Oh, it’s so easy to preach about the politicians who are to blame…and then it’s not so easy to talk about the next group…

Fault Line #2 - Compromising Preachers
 
Thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him. (Micah 3:5)

Should they be preaching peace when judgment is coming?  Should they preach to the offering plates, altering their message so as not to offend?  And do we today really need to drag Jesus down to a lower level in an attempt to make Him more palatable?  Did not Jesus Himself say, "Come unto Me"?  When a preacher invites someone to Jesus, he must present Jesus and all He is without compromise.  We must preach the truth at all times and no matter the cost.  And it is vital that we practice what we preach.  As people of God, we must examine ourselves with humility.  The Lord isn’t looking for perfection, but for sincerity, and a desire to repent and follow Him.

I believe the Lord is not as concerned about where we are as where we are headed.  Which way are we facing?  Are we going forward for him or regressing?  In short, our present is more pertinent than our past.  This principle applies not only to those of us in the ministry but all church members as well.  It applies even further to our nation.  Thank God we can turn around and head in the right direction.  So, what does this mean for me? 

This means that there have been times that God has been more pleased with a drug addict than with me.  I know he has seen something in a wife beater that he wished he could see in me.  He has hoped I would learn something from someone who has had extramarital affairs.  “How could this be true?” you may ask.  It IS true, because all of those mentioned got saved under my ministry and then they began allowing God to conform them to His image.  They were improving, and meanwhile I was only going backward down Satan’s subtle slope of sin.  Oh sure, if I were counting their crimes vs. mine or stacking our respective sins on a scale then I may (or may not!) come out ahead.  But that’s not what God is looking at.  He’s not comparing me to them; he’s comparing my today with my yesterday.  Which way am I heading?  Am I backsliding, or repenting?

Ill.—the Pharisee and the Publican.

Preachers today aren’t taking on sin.  Why not confront the sins of abortion and homosexuality/trans?  How about alcohol/drugs/gambling and living together, cursing, and looking at porn?  How about preaching on the reality and horrors of hell?  “No, people leave the church when you talk like that.”  When Micah warns the people that God is about to judge, he points at not only the corrupt politicians, but also the compromising preachers and says, "It’s your fault!"  And we must own our faults before God and allow Him to help us to correct them.

Fault Line #3 - Complacent People
 
The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? No evil can come upon us. (Micah 3:11)

The word "they" is where the complacent people appear.  The people of Israel said, "We know the politicians are corrupt, we know the preachers are compromisers, but it will be ok, because we’re ok.  The economy is strong, we’re happy, and it’s alright. Is not the Lord among us? No evil can touch us."  And many ignorant Americans make a similar claim: "Our nation has a Christian heritage. We have Godly roots."  So did Israel! And so did many other nations which God has judged, or wiped out completely.  We must pursue hard after God or destruction will certainly overtake us as well.
 

Ill.—oscillating sprinklers.  We all ran through them as a kid.  I was amazed at how after it reached the apex, there was still water falling on one side while it was pointing now to the other side.  Even so, America is still reaping God’s blessings from above from back when our nation was pointed in the right way…even though we are now pointed in the wrong direction.  We can’t go to sleep on the fact that eventually God’s judgment will catch up with us.

Where do we go from here?
We should do our part to elect leaders that seek to fulfill God's righteous requirements.  And what do we do if and when corrupt politicians come to power?  We may not be able to absolutely control such a situation, but we certainly can focus on ourselves and make sure we aren't compromising preachers, or complacent people, remembering the promise of II Chronicles 7:14: If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

It is true:  I think our nation is in trouble.  But I also know that Jesus Christ is the hope of our nation and the world.  He stands as a light for us to follow.  His arms of mercy are open to those who will turn from selfishness and evil to him.  He offers salvation to us as a free gift.  But our acceptance of that will certainly be evidenced by a life marked by repentance and righteousness.  My prayer is that my preaching—and yours—will be marked by the righteousness, justice, and mercy embodied by Christ himself.  Ultimately, the hope of America is not found in the White House or the State House, nor in the Courthouse.  The hope of America is found in God’s House, and your house, and my house!