Living the Prophet's Creed

 Living the Prophet's Creed

6/22/2021

 

Text: Micah 6:1-8

(1)  Hear ye now what the LORD saith; Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice.

(2)  Hear ye, O mountains, the LORD'S controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth: for the LORD hath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel.

(3)  O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me.

(4)  For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.

(5)  O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousness of the LORD.

(6)  Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?

(7)  Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

(8)  He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

 

Creed[1]

1.    A brief authoritative formula of religious belief

—   the Nicene Creed

2.    A set of fundamental beliefs

—   also : a guiding principle

—   “Never settle for mediocrity is his creed.” -Jill Lieber

 

There are principles in God’s Word that when lived out, or violated, lead to a life blessing or cursing.

 

Tonight, we will take a look at what the late Rev. James Lumpkin, Sr. called, “The Prophet’s Creed,” and I take as a title this thought:

Living the Prophet’s Creed

 

A creed, a set of fundamental beliefs, a collection of guiding principles, are only as effective as your desire and determination to live them out.

 

It is a good practice for children to have memorized all the books of the Bible by the time they leave Sunday School and graduate to the Adult Bible Class.

Many children are taught to memorize the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3-17):

  I.    Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

  II.    Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image

  III.    Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain

  IV.    Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy

  V.    Honour thy father and thy mother

  VI.    Thou shalt not kill

  VII.    Thou shalt not commit adultery

  VIII.    Thou shalt not steal

  IX.    Thou shalt not bear false witness

  X.    Thou shalt not covet

And, there are two passage in the Bible that every saint in an Apostolic Oneness Pentecostal should have total recall on:

·       Deuteronomy 6:4-5, “(4) Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:  (5) And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”

·       Acts 2:38, “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

 

These all serve to pass on to the next generation a set of Basic Bible Principles, that when lived out produce a godly and sanctified life.

 

Living the Prophet’s Creed consists of three principles that we all need to apply to our lives:

1.    To do justly 

2.    To love mercy

3.    To walk humbly with thy God

 

In verse 2, of our text, the LORD has a controversy, a complaint, with Israel, and He is pleading with them:

“O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me. For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants [slaves]; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.

 

In an attempt to call them back to a right relationship with Him, He reminded them of Egypt – the place God delivered them, and redeemed them.

 

He sent servants, you might even identify them as prophets:

·       Moses = Lawgiver, to deliver and instruct.

·       Aaron = The High Priest, to atone.

·       Miriam = Prophetess & Praiser, and to teach the women.

 

The Lord is pleading with His people to remember all that He did for them.

Reminding them the He turned Baalam’s curse into a blessing proving His faithfulness to Israel.

They were perhaps sincere in their desire to keep the commandments of the Law, but misguided seekers

The laws were there not to be followed in some type of burdensone manner, but to establish principles, which had been forgotten.

Sometimes a law can be made that is still kept but nobody remembers the purpose. <ham, Vevay>

 

When you live The Prophet’s Creed you will automatically live by the principles that the Law was formed to teach you.

 

The Prophet’s Creed:

To Do Justly

1.    Do right by God:

Mark 12:29-30, “And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:  And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.”

·       Love God

·       Heart = Are your affections solely on Jesus?

·       Soul = Would you give up your life for Jesus?

·       Mind = Will you lay aside what you think for what God’s Word tells you?

·       Strength = Will you give all the strength and effort of your life to His will?

 

2.    Do right by your neighbor:

Mark 12:31, “And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor…”

·       Prefer your fellow

·       Never work to harm another

·       Treat people right

·       Love people

 

3.    Do right by yourself:

“…as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.”

·       Do you like yourself?

·       Don’t deprive yourself of all that God has richly provided.

4.    We live by the justness and truth of the Word of God and we are judged by it.

 

To Love Mercy

1.    It is necessary that we not only live by the justice and judgment of the Law, but to also give to mercy what it requires – LOVE MERCY.

·       The Law came by Moses buy grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

·       2 Corinthians 3:5-6, “…our sufficiency is of God; Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.”

·       Psalms 85:10, “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.”

·       Psalms 25:10, “All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.”

·       The mercy you show is the mercy you’ll  know.

·       God is not in the business of stopping people from receiving mercy: “The God of my mercy shall prevent me…” (Ps. 59:10).

o   Prevent = “project oneself, precede, go before.”

o   God’s mercy goes before us

 

To Walk Humbly with Thy God

1.    1 Peter 5:6-7, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:  Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”

·       Acknowledge God’s Sovereignty

o   There is One God and you are not Him!

·       Beware, Humility Required:

o   Confess and forsake your sin

o   Submit to the ordinance of water baptism

o   Yield to the Holy Ghost.

·       Accept God’s Mercy

·       Walk in God’s Grace

·       Is the Lord Jesus Christ truly your God?

·       Walk humbly before others as well

o   God isn’t the only one who hates a proud, haughty or arrogant attitude.

·       Submission is the hallmark of humility.

·       James 4:5-12, “(5) Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?  (6)  But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.  (7)  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  (8)  Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.  (9)  Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.  (10)  Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.  (11)  Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.  (12)  There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?”

·       Galatians 6:1-3, “(1) Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.  (2) Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.  (3) For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.”

 

Each of the three people Micah records as being sent to His people were at one point violators of The Prophet’s Creed, but one they learned the necessity of Living the Prophet’s Creed they became examples for us to follow:

Moses – The great lawgiver, did justly as he operated in his role as both deliverer and the giver of the Law

·       A murderer, disobeyed God in a moment of rage

Aaron – The High Priest, loved mercy and as a priest stood as a bridge between God and Man making atonement for sin.

·       An idolater, excused his sin

Miriam – The prophetess of praise and instructor of women, learned humility.

·       Jealousy, envy, rebellion

 

It’s a question: “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” (Micah 6:8).

 

I want everyone to come forward tonight to the altar, and I’m going to give you some basic instructions:

·       Close your eyes

·       Lift your head up. Look up.

·       Raise both hands. Pray. Surrender. Worship.

·       Lift voice.

·       Commit to Living The Prophet’s Creed: to do justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly with your God.

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[1] “Creed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/creed. Accessed 22 Jun. 2021.