Ron Dunn Podcast - Gods Battering Ram

Episode Date: May 27, 2015

Pastor Ron Dunn preaches a message entitled Gods Battering Ram

You are listening to the Ron Dunn Podcast. Ron Dunn is a well-known author and was one of the most in-demand preachers during the latter part of the 20th century. He led Bible studies all over the United States, Europe, and South Africa. For more information and resources from Ron Dunn, please visit rondunn.com. If you weren't here this morning, you may want to turn to your table of contents and find out where it is. But for those of you that were, you'll know immediately where it is, won't you? And won't have any trouble finding it again.

It's right between Jonah. See, I have to look. I don't know, Jonah and Nahum. Now, Nahum's of course, well, no minute I mention Nahum while you just pinpointed it immediately, didn't you? But the prophet Micah, his name means who is like Jehovah. And throughout this book, throughout his prophecy, he's giving us a picture of what God is like. Now, tonight I want to read two verses from the second chapter, just the last two verses. In the second chapter, verses 1 through 11 deal with judgment.

In chapter 1, as we looked at this morning, there were sins against God. These were the sins that they were committing against God. Tonight, in chapter 2, verses 1 through 11, these deals with sins against each other, such as greed and unethical conduct and such. But there is something about Micah that always ends each message on a curious note or a note of hope or expectation. And so I want us to read just the last two verses, Micah chapter 2, verses 12 through 13. I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob. I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel. I will bring them together like sheep in a pen.

Now, as I mentioned this morning, I am reading from the NIV, which I do not believe is by far the best translation. It happens to be the most popular now. But the King James and some of the others retain the original word, which I think is important to retain, Basroth. And so write that, if your Bible doesn't have that in there, I will bring them together like sheep, like the sheep or the flock of Basra. And we'll explain in a moment why that is so important. Like a flock in its pasture, the place will throng with people. The breaker goes up before them and opens the way,

or one who breaks open the way will go before them. They will break through the gate and go out. Their king will pass through them, the Lord, at their head. I'm going to put my paper clip over here to keep these pages from flying. You don't know Kurt Corbin. Actually, I didn't either. Spanish philosopher once said, We do not know what is happening, and that is what is happening.

Now, what he was saying is, we do not know what is happening, and that is what is happening. Pretty sure that's what he was saying. What he meant, I believe, is this, that many a time we don't know what is happening or don't think anything of significance is happening. And yet what is happening that seems to be of little significance is of great significance. That the great moments of our life often pass unnoticed. And it's only in looking back and reflection we see that that was a great moment, or that that was a transforming, a threshold, a liminal experience in my life.

See, we're bad about today centering on the sensational while we miss the significant. I'm sure most of you have heard of the O.J. Simpson trial that's going on. You'd have to be a visitor from outer space not to have known it. In all the way it has been conducted and all of the hoopla around it, you would think that that's the most significant thing happening in our country today, wouldn't you? They're calling it the trial of the century, but I imagine there'll be others.

And yet, to be honest with you folks, that is not the most significant thing that's happening. By far, it is not the most significant thing that is happening. You see, what today, especially in our TV generation, the media focuses on that which is sensational and spectacular. And while we're looking over there, zoom, the significant zips by and we never really know it. And I don't mean by this that the death of John F. Kennedy was not significant. The death of any man has its own significance and especially the death of a president. But do you know who else died on that day?

It wasn't in the papers. Another man died on that day by the name of C.S. Lewis, who was one of the greatest Christian apologists our century has ever seen. And who will, as far as eternity is concerned, have a far greater impact than any president will ever have. And yet, you didn't see mention of his death in the newspapers at all, or if you did, it was just in a corner somewhere. Because we were fastened on

that which was significant in itself, but which also was spectacular and sensational. You remember when James Belushi, was it James or John that died of the overdose? James? Yeah. John. He along with Kirk. But you remember when he died. I mean, it was in all the papers and on television. They made a movie about it, and they've written books about it, magazine articles about it. But, I mean, let's face it, folks.

Here was a TV comedian, a dopehead, who died on an overdose. That is not too significant, is it? You know who else died on the same day that he died? A woman by the name of Anne Rand. Now, you may never have heard of her because she was not necessarily a Christian, but she was one of the greatest thinkers of our day, a great philosopher and author, and probably one of the greatest women of letters that our country has ever produced. But you didn't hear anything about her death. It was obscured because our attention was focused on something sensational and spectacular

while a significant part of the intellectual world had passed away. That's the way it is. We are often focused on the spectacular and don't really know what's happening. And I look back on my life and I realize now that some of the moments in my life when I just passed off as nothing happening, that's when something really was happening. And it may be that way in the lives of all of us. Oh, I know it is. And in the life of the church, sometimes we think nothing is happening when something is happening. But it's not spectacular or sensational, and so we don't recognize it. Now, there are two what the church is doing,

what God is doing. The world focuses on sensational things and spectacular things, and we miss some of the most significant things of all. God is doing two significant things right now in our age, in our day. And Micah addresses them here because it was doing, it's the same thing He was doing in His day. As a matter of fact, it's the same thing God's been doing in every age. But it is unnoticed. One is mentioned in verse 12, and the other is mentioned in verse 13.

Now I want to deal very briefly tonight with the significant thing that God is doing in verse 12 and give most of my time to what God is doing in verse 13. In verse 12 he says, I will surely, actually he says, I will assemble, assemble. He repeats the word for emphasis. I will surely, I will assemble, assemble all of you, O Jacob. I will bring together, certainly, surely, I will bring together the remnant of Israel. Number one, what God is doing in our day, the significant thing that God is always doing is, He is calling out His remnant. He is gathering His remnant.

Now, remnant is a great biblical word. I would encourage you to do an Old Testament study, especially Old Testament, of the word remnant. The remnant means exactly what you think it means. It's a remnant. It's a leftover. It is something small. It is something unspectacular and unsensational, but highly significant, although it may hold no significance in the eyes of those who are around it. God gathering his remnant. Now, as you study the Bible, one thing you come away with is that God always has a remnant. And God always works through the remnant, through the small. You know, in my years of ministry, and especially since I've been traveling for these 20 years, I've been in all kinds of churches. I mean, I've been in Baptist churches.

I've been in Methodist churches. I mean, I've been in Baptist churches. I've been in Methodist churches. I've been in Episcopal churches. I've preached in the church of England, Anglican churches. I've been in Brethren churches. I've been in Mennonite churches. I've been in just about every kind of church there is. I've been in conservative churches, and I've been in liberal churches. I mean, let's face it, folks, business is business. I just go wherever, you know, there is. I've been in big churches. I've been in little churches.

I've been in churches that were alive, and I've been in churches that were dead. But I want to tell you something. I have never been in a church, no matter how dead or liberal it is, but that I haven't found at least one or two or three people within that church who had a heart and a hunger for God. That's the remnant. And that's who I preach to. I know on Sunday morning when I preach, half the crowd's not going to be back Sunday night.

And I know on Sunday night, usually half the crowd won't be back on Monday night. I don't know who they are, but we'll find out by Monday or Tuesday night who the remnant is. But, and I know that half of the congregation at least are more than that. Probably not going to hear a word I say or do anything about it. But I'm not preaching to that bunch. I know that there's some out there that's who have hungry hearts and are seeking the Lord, and they're the ones I'm preaching to, and they're the ones that God will use. Your pastor and I both quote Vance Havner a lot, and maybe he's quoted you this one, but Vance Havner said that when he was growing up in Carolina,

that as a boy, his job was that in the winter, it was his task to get up in the morning and light the fire in the big old family fireplace. And he said, I soon learned that you don't start a fire by trying to light the big backlog first. He said, you get a few hot coals together and blow on them until a flame comes out. And he said, that's what I do. I go around the country blowing on a few hot coals and one of these days it will burst into a flame.

That's what God is doing. He's filtering. He's sifting. We're hearing a lot today about things like the laughing revival and all sorts of wildfire and all sorts of excesses don't be bothered by that and by the way I wouldn't be impressed by that

God is filtering out that which goes after the sensational and the spectacular and those who have a real hunger and heart for God he is gathering his remnant and the spectacular and those who have a real hunger and heart for God. He is gathering His remnant. He is touching hearts, a few hearts. You see, an awakening or a spiritual awakening among God's people will never start all of a sudden with the whole church.

It starts with a few and moves on from there. He is gathering His remnant and He is doing it in Basreth. Now Basreth was an Edomite city. It was a fortified city. It was the enemy. It was enemy land, enemy territory. What God is saying is that right under the noses of the enemy, I'm gathering my underground, and I'm putting together a remnant who eventually will overturn and overrun all that Basra stands for. And we are living in an increasing hostile environment in our country and in the world as far as Christianity is concerned. And that's God's way. Right in the midst of a growing hostility towards Christianity,

God is gathering His remnant. And that's who He's going to work through. And when revival comes to this country, it will come through the remnant. The hope of the church is the remnant, those few in every body who have a hunger to see God. But that's the first thing he's doing. What I want us to do is give the rest of our time to verse 13.

One who breaks open the way will go up before them. They will break through the gate and go out. Their king will pass through before them, the Lord, at their feet. The second significant thing that God is doing is not only is he gathering his remnant, but he is setting them free from the bondage of their environment and their hostile world. That's an interesting thing. A lot of times people say, when you read verse 13, I said, well, boy, you're not going to get anything out of that.

That is kind of a strange one, isn't it? One who breaks open the way will go before them. I like the King James rendering here. The breaker will go up before them. The breaker. And that's really the best translation. The breaker was a part of the flock. He was a ram that had horns. Now sheep, you know, are dumb. You know that, don't you? Sheep are stupid. I mean, when God compares men to sheep, that's not a compliment.

I mean, we would be better complimented if he called us pigs. You know, truth of the matter is, I guess. Or chickens. But you see, a sheep must have a shepherd. It's not fleet of foot. It has nothing to fend itself with. It can't run fast. It can't fight. It's at the mercy foot. It has nothing to fend itself with. It can't run fast. It can't fight.

It's at the mercy of anything that comes along. And it just sticks its head into the grass and eats without looking where it's going and can eat itself off of a cliff for all it cares. Well what would so often happen, and that is the picture here, is that that flock of sheep would be eating and not noticing where they were going, and they would end up in an entanglement, in a thicket. And when they tried to get out, they couldn't get out. They were imprisoned. They were enslaved by this thicket of brambles and bushes, and they couldn't get out.

Well, when that would happen, the ram would go up in front of them, and with his horns he would tear open a way through the thicket. And when that happened, then the rest of them could come up and follow. Now what this is, of course, is a beautiful picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. God's battering ram. God's breaker. And what he's saying is, first of all, that God is calling together his remnant and in the midst of Basareth, in the midst of hostile territory,

under ungodly influence, but the breaker is going before them and opening them away so that they can escape this kind of bondage. He's setting them free. So let's focus our thoughts tonight on Jesus, on this breaker. The one who is setting us free. I want to say just three simple things about it. Number one, he was one of us. Jesus Christ, as he came into this world, came as one of us.

The breaker was a member of the flock. And he shared their captivity. And when the Lord Jesus came into this world, he came as one of us, and he shared our captivity in the sense that he lived in a hostile environment. He was one of us, not separated from us. You say, well, wasn't He God? Yes, He was God, but He was also man, just as much man as He was God. Now, you know, in past years, in the past generations, we've been so afraid of diminishing the deity of Christ that we have neglected the humanity of Christ.

But I want you to understand tonight that it was just as necessary for Jesus to be a human in order to save us as it was for him to be God. His humanity is just as essential as his deity. You can't have a Savior who is not totally 100% human. And that's what Jesus was. Born of a woman, born under the law, just like all of us are. He was one of us. He lived among us, tabernacled among us, shared our hurts and our pains. He knew what it was to be thirsty. He knew what it was to weep at the grave of a friend. He knew what it was to lose a loved one. He knew what it was to be misunderstood,

and He knew what it was to be lied about and forsaken and rejected. He was one of us. Because, you see, the problem is that man and God are separated by sin. Man is too sinful to approach God, and God is too holy to approach man. And so there's an impasse. Well, how are you going to bridge this gap? Well, there was only one way. God became man. And when Jesus Christ was born, there you had the reconciliation. You had God and man meeting together in one person. God becoming man could meet with man and fellowship with man and make connection with man.

And when Jesus died on the cross, that man dying on the cross was God, and yet he was man. That's when the reconciliation was effected because it's, well, that's where they meet. That's where they meet. There is one mediator between man and God, and that is the man Christ Jesus. That's why Jesus is called the mercy seat. Why? Because it is only at Jesus that we meet God, that we meet mercy, you see. So he had to be man, had to be every bit 100% human. One of my favorite passages is Hebrews chapter 4.

Why don't you just flip over there for a moment. Hebrews chapter 4, verses 14 through 16. He's been talking about the high priestly ministry of the Lord Jesus. And he says in verse 14, Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, like that breaker who has gone before us, who has gone through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize, to feel in the depths of our being with our weaknesses,

but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet without sin. Let us, therefore, approach with confidence the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need. Now you'll notice that in the text, in Micah, it says the breaker has gone up before them. Now normally when the Bible talks about Jesus coming to save us, it speaks of his coming down, the incarnation. But in Micah 2.13, it says He goes up from among them, indicating, emphasizing His humanness, His being apart with us.

You see, He didn't come down, but He went up from among us. Now, we have a high priest, and I think the writer of Hebrews here maybe had a second thought that he was putting in such an exalted position Jesus as high priest that all of a sudden he thought, well, people may think he's out of touch. He said, oh no. He said, we have a high priest. Notice the words. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin. He has been touched by our he feels along. The word is almost untranslatable.

The old word talked about bowels of compassion because in the old days that's the expression they used to try to talk about the deepest, most innermost feelings that a person could have. And he's saying, Our high priest feels, sympathizes, has been touched with the feelings of our weaknesses. Now, isn't that something?

He was strong. He was God. And yet he knows what it is to feel the weaknesses of human life. Insomuch so that he was tempted in all points such as we are. The only difference is without sin. Now the question always comes up, could Jesus Christ have sinned? The Bible never says that he could have, and the Bible never says that he could not have. The Bible just says he did not. He was sinless. Now there are some who believe

that Jesus could not have sinned because he was God. Well, he was also man. And it is my humble and accurate opinion that Jesus had the choice that he could have sinned if he had chosen to do so, else the temptation was a mockery. I mean, the temptation, it's no temptation. You say, well, Jesus didn't have the capacity for sin. Then, you see, if there is no capacity to sin, then there's no temptation. You say, well, Jesus didn't have the capacity for sin. Then, you see, if there is no capacity to sin, then there's no temptation at all. I can't tempt you if you don't have the ability

to choose to do that sin. You say, well, he didn't have a sinful nature. How could he have been tempted? I don't know. Ask Adam. Adam didn't have a sinful nature. How could he have been tempted? I don't know. Ask Adam. Adam didn't have a sinful nature, but he certainly had the capacity for choosing. And by the disobedience of the first Adam, many were made sinners. But by the obedience, implying there could have been disobedience, many were made righteous. He could have called, the Bible says, for legions of angels. He could have done that which would have been contrary to the will of God. You see, you say, well, is that so important? Only in this sense.

A lot of people accuse the church of being out of touch. A lot of people accuse preachers of being out of touch. You see, what the writer here is saying is that Jesus is not out of touch. He knows how we feel. Now, look at verse 16. Let us therefore come boldly before the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Let me ask you a question. If you have a deep hurt, I mean a heartbreaking ache, who do you feel more confidence in going to to talk about that? Somebody who has never known any hurt? Somebody who has never struggled himself?

No. I tell you, when I have problems, when I have hurts, I want to go to somebody who's been where I've been. And friends, make no mistake about it, the New Testament makes it clear that Jesus struggled in His temptation and struggled to maintain His righteousness.

All right. Therefore, on that basis, we can come with confidence to our high priest and receive mercy and help. Why? Well, He's been there. He knows what I'm talking about. He never yielded to the temptation,

but He had the temptation and it was real. He's one of us. One of us. And when we get to heaven, won't it be wonderful when all the blemishes of this life will be taken away from us? We won't have to wear those glasses and hearing aids and walk on crutches. Of course, you know there'll be one in heaven that will still bear the marks he received on earth, and that's Jesus. Why?

John looked up and saw him in heaven and saw him as a lamb that had been slain, and throughout all eternity, Jesus will bear those marks. Why? To remind us constantly that he was not out of touch, that he goes up before them. They will break through the gate and go out.

He goes up before them. He cuts through the wall. He breaks through the boundaries. He is the pioneer. He is the Lewis and Clark of the spiritual life. He's like a pathfinder, that in life he always goes before us. And like following a pathfinder through a deeply wooded forest, he leaves marks along the way so we'll know where to step. He goes before us.

He went before us. He went into hell before us. He went into the grave before us. He has gone into heaven before us. The whole picture of Jesus Christ is as one being the pioneer of our faith, the author and the finisher of our faith. And I tell you, that's what we need. We need somebody who goes before us.

You know, there's something about this life. Nobody is an expert in tomorrow. Nobody has ever lived this day before. Nobody has ever lived tomorrow before. You know, that's the frustrating thing about life. You know, about the time you get experience, you're unemployed. About the time you get a handle on things, you lose your grip. I read somewhere the other day that if you walk three miles a day,

it will add maybe a year to your life. I said, big deal. The last years are usually not all that great. Now, if they would, you know, what year are they going to add? Now, if it would be 22 know, what year are they going to add? Now, if it would be 22B and 22A and 22B, well, you know, that'd be all right. But if it's 78A and 78B, I don't know if that's that big a deal. You know, isn't it something that just at the time when you've lived long enough

and have experienced enough, when you've gained a little wisdom and knowledge and you wouldn't make the same foolish mistakes you made years before, just about the time you're really ready and know how to handle life, you die. I think it ought to be the other way around. I think you ought to be born at the age of 90. Smart, wise, and work your way down to stupidity. You spend your whole life getting ready to live and then you die.

We need somebody who goes before us. I love the words of Joshua when he was preparing the people to cross the Jordan. He said, you stay close to the ark. Keep the ark in view. Why? Because you have not passed this way before. Put that on your refrigerator.

You've not lived this day before. Nobody has. It's a new day. We're all amateurs in the art of living, folks. There are no experts on tomorrow. Well, there is one, Jesus. You say, how do you know he's an expert? Well, he was tempted in all points such as we are,

yet without sin that qualifies him as an expert. Well, anyway, it always interests me these marriage counselors who've been divorced about three times. You know, I don't know that I have a whole lot to learn. I mean, that doesn't give me a great deal of confidence. He tempted in all points, yet without sin. Well, He's one of us. He goes before us. And He stays with us. He stays with us. Notice the latter part of that verse.

He says, Their king will pass through before them, the Lord at their head. You can draw circles over those words like I had you do this morning. He's continually breaking through the gate. He's continually going before them. He's continually passing through before them,

the Lord at their head. You know, we say sometimes, man, I wish I'd have been alive when Jesus was here on earth. Well, I think that would have been neat. But I tell you what, we have it far better than they did. Because you see,

when Jesus was here physically, if He is with you here in Albany, He can't be with me in Irving. If Jesus is standing by your bedside here, He can't stand by my bedside there. When He was here on earth, He was limited by time and space. But now, why did He go away from us? He went away from us so that He might stay with us. He ascended to the Father, and then in the form of the Holy Spirit,

in the person of the Holy Spirit, He came to indwell every one of us. And the amazing thing is that you have as much of God as there is in you, and I have as much of God as there is in you, and I have as much of God as there is in me. I remember some years ago talking with a woman who was having some problems, and she felt very inferior spiritually, and I shocked her by saying,

You've got as much of God in you as Paul the Apostle had. No, no, no, no, no, no. I said, Yes, you do. And you have as much of God in you, you have as much of the Holy Spirit in you as Paul had, as Peter had. You see, when God moves into our life, it's not like spreading butter on a piece of bread. Usually the sinner gets most of it, and then by the time you get out to the crust, well, you know, half the time you don't get out there.

And a lot of people feel like that's the way God is, that there are some that He's really in. But some of us are out on the edge, kind of crummy, and there's not much of God in us. Oh, no, it's not like that. It's an amazing thing. I can sit in my home in Irving, Texas, and turn on the television, and I'm watching a concert from New York, or maybe from Italy by satellite. Of course, you know, they have to parcel it out.

You know, I just get a few notes, and you get some notes, and you get some notes. I mean, you know, you can't give everybody the whole thing. You just have to parcel it out. That's not the way it works. Isn't it amazing that I can be in my home in Texas and I can get the whole program, not miss a note, and you can be in your home in Georgia

and get the whole program and not miss a note. That's the way it is with God. I have all of God there is in me God. I have all of God, there is, in me. And you have all of God in you. And after you've been in heaven 10,000 years, you'll have no more of God than you have now, under different circumstances, of course, but no more of God. One of us goes before us, stays with us. When I was a boy about nine, I joined the Cub Scout. And we had a compass exercise, I remember. There were 16 of us Cub Scouts.

And they put us in groups of four and gave us a big boy scout, you know, to be with us. And they took us up in the Boston Mountains outside of Fort Smith, Arkansas. It was about 10 o'clock at night, and they left us in four different groups at four different spots, four Cub Scouts with a Boy Scout. They gave each Boy Scout a compass and a flashlight, and they gave us all a different reading,

and they said, now you follow this reading, and in an hour you'll come to the lodge, and we'll have hot chocolate and Oreo cookies waiting for you. Well, we started out, I mean, it had been raining most of the day. It was overcast, no moon. Oh, it was dark. I mean, it was pitch black up there in the Boston Mountains, but we had our Boy Scout with us, so we weren't real worried.

The only problem was that after a while, our flashlight didn't have the bunny batteries in it. This was before the days of the bunny battery, and the flashlight started going dim and finally just went out. And we got confused and couldn't really read the compass well. To make a long story short, we got lost. I mean, after an hour, I knew we were lost out there in the Boston mountains, pitch black, dark, scared. I mean, I was nine years old. Boy, if my mother had known where I was, what was going on,

you know, she'd have killed that scoutmaster, I guess. But anyway, that was in the days before they put safety locks on everything, you know. And so anyway, we wandered around about two hours. And finally, we came to a place where the ground was darker than what we had been walking on, which meant that there was a ravine, a ditch, or a gully, or something there. And we didn't know what it was. But across the way, we saw the lights of the lodge. It was on the other side and i all i could think is they're eating my oreo cookies and drinking all the hot chocolate and so we sat there stood there for a few minutes what are we going to do what are we going to do and everybody looked at the boy scout i mean you know he's the he's the leader i mean i'm not going down there the bravest thing i ever did was strike a match without closing the cover. I'm not about to go down.

So after a while, he says, okay, fellas, you wait right here and I'll go. And so he sat down and slid over that darkened embankment. And we heard him for a minute and then we didn't hear anything. I know it couldn't have been long, but it seemed long to me. And then after a while, from the other side, out of the darkness, we heard the voice of our leader saying, It's okay, fellas.

You can make it. Come on across. And that's what Jesus does. All of us in our lives are going to come to the edge where before us is nothing but darkness. But if we listen carefully, we can hear the voice of our leader saying, It's all right. You can make it. Come on across. That's our Lord. And God is gathering together a few people who will take him seriously. He's setting them free, becoming real to them, becoming their leader, their pioneer, their pathfinder. And they are the ones who hear His voice in the darkest hours of the night. Would you bow your heads with me now for a moment?

This is your invitation to be part of the excitement of worship every week at this time at Sherwood Baptist Church, located at 2201 Whispering Pines Road in Albany. We'll see you next time. not to be duplicated, uploaded to the web, or resold without prior written consent. It is managed and operated by Sherwood Baptist Church. For more Ron Dunn materials, sermon outlines, devotions, and scanned pages from his study Bible, please visit rondunn.com.