https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Once-Is-Enough.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: Micah 2:1-5<\/p>\nI. I was giving a young pre-teen some instruction in Tae Kwon Do. I told her how the move\n was to be done, I showed her how it was done, and I explained why this method worked\n better. Exasperated with me, she put her hands on her hips and said, “I know how to do\n this; you don’t have to repeat yourself; once is enough for me!” Funny thing was that I\n was repeating the instruction from different directions precisely because she continued to\n do the move wrong.\n
A. Micah brought warnings to Israel from God – Micah 2:1-5<\/p>\n
B. The result was an outcry against the crier – Micah 2:6<\/p>\n
1. They spoke out against Micah, telling him not to speak out<\/p>\n
2. (Notice the inequity?)<\/p>\n C. But God points out that if the prophets don’t speak out, there will be no change in\nthe bad behavior.\n
II. People don’t like to hear rebukes<\/p>\n
A. The wise learn, but fools scoff at rebuke – Proverbs 13:1<\/p>\n
B. Duty of a preacher, but there are people who prefer myths – II Timothy 4:1-4<\/p>\n
1. Isaiah 30:9-11 – People who rather be comforted by lies<\/p>\n
2. Jeremiah 5:30-31 – Astonishing that people prefer lies<\/p>\n 3. Micah 2:11 – A man advocating drinking would be popular, though it\nwould be useless teaching\n
4. With no love for the truth, they accept lies – II Thessalonians 2:10-11<\/p>\n
5. To show how far people will go – Jeremiah 26:20-23<\/p>\n
C. Some want no conflict<\/p>\n
1. The “can’t we just get along” crowd<\/p>\n
2. Unity is important – Ephesians 4:1-3<\/p>\n
3. Peace is needed – II Corinthians 13:11<\/p>\n
4. But true unity and true peace only comes in obedience to God<\/p>\n a. Jeremiah 6:14 – Superficial healing by claiming a peace that did not\nexist\n
b. Jeremiah 8:11-12 – Claiming peace while continuing to sin<\/p>\n
c. Jeremiah 23:17 – Claiming peace while living by their own standard<\/p>\n
5. Woe to those altering the difference between truth and lies – Isaiah 5:20-24<\/p>\n
III. Instruction involves repetition<\/p>\n
A. Peter sought to constantly remind the brethren – II Peter 1:12-15<\/p>\n
B. Now in case you didn’t get the message, he reminds us again – II Peter 3:1<\/p>\n
C. Even the knowledgeable need reminders – Romans 15:14-15<\/p>\n
D. Reminders help keep us safe – Philippians 3:1<\/p>\n
IV. But what if they disagree?<\/p>\n A. A young man wrote because he was told that if a Christian disagrees with you and\nthen you bring the subject up again, then you are not accepting him as a weaker\nbrother.\n
1. The allusion is to Romans 14:1<\/p>\n a. People should not be received with the idea that we will eventually\nargue them out of their odd ideas – their doubts.\n b. It would be like the woman thinking that once she marries the man\nshe’ll “fix” all his personal problems.\n
c. If a person is acceptable, they should be accepted<\/p>\n
(1) Accepted by God, stands before God – Romans 14:3-4<\/p>\n
(2) We all belong to God – Romans 14:7-8<\/p>\n 2. But does this mean that any topic that fellow Christians hold diverse views\nshould not be brought up?\n
a. Such would not make sense – Acts 20:20, 26-27<\/p>\n b. The gospel is not taught for the approval of men – I Thessalonians\n2:4\n
c. The gospel is not to be handled craftily – II Corinthians 4:1-6<\/p>\n B. But when sin is involved, when someone is not living a life acceptable to God, we\ncannot be silent\n 1. The fall of Israel came because those on watch didn’t sound an alarm –\nIsaiah 56:10\n
2. For the people’s sake, the watchman cannot be silent – Isaiah 62:1<\/p>\n
3. God expects the watchmen to not be silent – Isaiah 62:6<\/p>\n
4. Even though many will not listen – Jeremiah 6:17<\/p>\n
C. In the first century, there were those raised in Judaism worshiping with Gentiles.<\/p>\n 1. Though they left Judaism, many it appears continued to follow their Jewish\ncustoms.\n
2. Could they successfully worship with Gentiles?<\/p>\n
a. Of course!<\/p>\n b. The Gentiles were not look down on their Jewish brethren because\nthey kept dietary restrictions – Romans 14:3\n c. And the Jews, knowing intellectually that the Law was ended, but\nstill unable to confidently change their diet was not to condemn\ntheir Gentile brethren – Romans 14:22-23\n d. The Gentiles were expected to be sympathetic to the Jewish\nbrethren and not to force the issue – Romans 14:21; I Corinthians\n10:23-33\n
3. But was the issue never talked about? Quite the contrary!<\/p>\n a. The Jewish Christians were told not to judge those who no longer\nkept the traditional holy days – Colossians 2:16-17\n b. They were told that circumcision was not to be demanded –\nGalatians 5:1-4\n c. When Peter isolated himself under pressure from Jewish Christians,\nPaul stood against him – Galatians 2:11-19\n
V. Strive for unity and peace, not by avoiding topics, but by seeking to live acceptable to God<\/p>\n
A. Not by following after lies – Jeremiah 23:26-29<\/p>\n
1. God’s word is the wheat – it nourishes those who accept it<\/p>\n
2. God’s word is fire – it tries; destroying the bad and purifying the good<\/p>\n
3. God’s word is a hammer – it breaks those who refuse to accept it.<\/p>\n
B. I Corinthians 1:10<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Micah 2:1-5 I. I was giving a young pre-teen some instruction in Tae Kwon Do. I told her how the move was to be done, I showed her how it was done, and I explained why this method worked better. Exasperated with me, she put her hands on her hips and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[1598,451,456],"class_list":["post-16826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-rebukes","tag-teaching","tag-unity"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":61784,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-you-weary-of-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":16826,"position":0},"title":"Are You Weary of God?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 17, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Micah 6:1-3 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Being a Christian is a commitment for life. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Matthew 7:13-14 - Few make it. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Few made it from Israel - Romans 9:27 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0People will want in, but don\u2019t put in the effort until too late - Luke 13:23-30 II.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It isn\u2019t that God\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8554,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/where-does-micah-say-that-god-asks-us-to-be-fair-and-just\/","url_meta":{"origin":16826,"position":1},"title":"Where does Micah say that God asks us to be fair and just?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 12, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am looking for the exact quote from the prophet Micah to use as an inscription for a gift. I think that it begins: Be fair and just, be merciful and true, these are the things I am asking of you. If you could help that would be great.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":88121,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-micah-principle-applied\/","url_meta":{"origin":16826,"position":2},"title":"The Micah Principle Applied","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 25, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by David Gibson What God Expects \"He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?\" (Micah 6:8). What John Preached When tax collectors asked what repentance would\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13751,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/religion-according-to-man\/","url_meta":{"origin":16826,"position":3},"title":"Religion According to Man","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 22, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: Galatians 1:6-10 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0What happens when man decides to worship God in his own way? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We see among denominations thousands of varying beliefs, yet all claim to be worshiping God and using the Bible as their guide \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Some even abandon the Bible and use other books, such as the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1846,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-you-only-teach-a-subject-once-to-a-christian-who-disagrees-with-you\/","url_meta":{"origin":16826,"position":4},"title":"Should you only teach a subject once to a Christian who disagrees with you?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 9, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Would I be wrong for preaching the whole Bible, even the parts that offend other people? I do not think so, but then again it would be nice to hear someone else on that. I mean I was thinking that the Bible said to preach to all of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":89611,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/skeptic-blunders-about-jesus-and-bethlehem\/","url_meta":{"origin":16826,"position":5},"title":"Skeptic: Blunders About Jesus and Bethlehem","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 21, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton \"Further, other claimed 'fulfilled prophecies' falter under scrutiny: Micah 5:2 (\"born in Bethlehem\") addresses a contemporary Davidic ruler from the 8th century BCE, whereas Matthew appears to adapt the narrative to make Jesus' origin fit this prophecy, despite other Gospel accounts indicating his roots in Nazareth.\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16826"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16826\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}