Sunday, February 12^th, Evident Grace looked at this Big Picture Question:

Big Picture Question:  How do we remember the power of God?

To answer that question, we looked at this passage from Micah…

Micah 5:10 And in that day, declares the Lord, I will cut off your horses from among you and will destroy your chariots; 11 and I will cut off the cities of your land and throw down all your strongholds; 12 and I will cut off sorceries from your hand, and you shall have no more tellers of fortunes; 13 and I will cut off your carved images and your pillars from among you, and you shall bow down no more to the work of your hands; 14 and I will root out your Asherah images from among you and destroy your cities. 15 And in anger and wrath I will execute vengeance on the nations that did not obey.

6:1 Hear what the Lord says: Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice, 2 Hear, you mountains, the indictment of the Lord, and you enduring foundations of the earth, for the Lord has an indictment against his people, and he will contend with Israel. 3 “O my people, what have I done to you? How have I wearied you? Answer me! 4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. 5 O my people, remember what Balak king of Moab devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord.”

We found these 3 answers to our Big Picture Question:

Big Picture Question:  How does God help us remember His power?

• He removes what we trust.
• He shows us our hearts.
• He calls us to remember.

He removes what we trust.

Micah 5:10 And in that day, declares the Lord, I will cut off your horses from among you and will destroy your chariots; 11 and I will cut off the cities of your land and throw down all your strongholds; 12 and I will cut off sorceries from your hand, and you shall have no more tellers of fortunes; 13 and I will cut off your carved images and your pillars from among you, and you shall bow down no more to the work of your hands; 14 and I will root out your Asherah images from among you and destroy your cities. 15 And in anger and wrath I will execute vengeance on the nations that did not obey.

God gave the people of Micah’s day good things:  military to protect them, wisdom to guide them, and worship to transform them.  Unfortunately, they perverted those gifts.  Instead of trusting the God, they trusted their military’s might.  Instead of trusting God for wisdom, they trusted sorcerers and fortune tellers.  Instead of worshiping the one true God, they worshiped idols made by their own hands.

God in His grace removed the false things that they trusted so that they might once again find their trust in God.

We too need to look at our hearts.  God will remind us of this power by removing the things we falsely trust.  This is an act of love by God.  We should do this heart work of remembering God’s power and removing what we falsely trust knowing that God will ultimately do it if we don’t.

He shows us our hearts.

6:1 Hear what the Lord says: Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice, 2 Hear, you mountains, the indictment of the Lord, and you enduring foundations of the earth, for the Lord has an indictment against his people, and he will contend with Israel. 3 “O my people, what have I done to you? How have I wearied you? Answer me!

God calls the mountain to testify in His court case against His people.  He asks the people, “Have I wearied you?  What have I done that you would worship every false thing?”  And the mountain echo in reply God’s faithfulness.

We reminds us of His power as He shows us our hearts.  As we learn our hearts, we find things to remove and we find God’s faithfulness true.

He calls us to remember.

4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.  5 O my people, remember what Balak king of Moab devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord.”

God reminds His people of His power.

In Exodus, God rescued His people from slavery.  He reminds them of their rescue from Egypt.

In Numbers 22:4-6 Balak was the king of Moab and he devised a plan with Balaam to curse and kill the people of God when they moved into the land.   But God protected them and no harm ever came to them from Balak or Balaam.

In Numbers 25:1 – Israel lived in the area of Shittim, and the people of God began to intermarry with the daughters of Moab intermingling not only with those women but also with their pagan religion.  God did not cast away His people despite their sin.

In Joshua 5:9-10 The Lord reminded Joshua that the reproach of being slaves had been removed from the people and now they had the freedom to worship God and they did by celebrating the Passover

What faithfulness should we remember?  In addition to those mentioned above, we should remember the faithfulness of Christ on our behalf.

2 Timothy 2:8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel…11 The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him…13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself. 13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself.

And we concluded we these thoughts…

Truth:  We remember God’s power as we learn more about our hearts and what we trust.

Application:  Live knowing that God will do whatever is necessary to remind you of us His power.

Action:  In some moment of worry or doubt this week, remember that God is more powerful than whatever it is you are facing.