Sermon #8                                                                                                                                  Micah Series

      Title:                                 Christ the Breaker

      Text:                                  Micah 2:112-13

      Subject:               Micah’s Prophecy of Christ the Breaker

      Date:                                Tuesday Evening — November 8, 2011

      Tape:                                Micah #8

      Readings:           Don Raneri and David Burge

      Introduction:

In Micah 2:12-13 we read a very unusual prophecy. Micah, writing by Divine inspiration, declared that the Son of God would come to seek and save His people, to gather His chosen remnant, to save His elect sheep. But Micah describes our great Savior in the performance of His great works of grace as “The Breaker.”

(Micah 2:12-13) “I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of [the multitude of] men. 13 The breaker is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the LORD on the head of them.”

Without question, this portion of Micah’s prophecy had specific reference, historically, to the nation of Israel and the seventy years of Babylonian Captivity. The Lord God, in judgment, dispersed His chosen people among the Gentiles. In chapters one and two, the Lord threatened severe but just punishment upon them because of their relentless ungodliness, idolatry, and eagerness to follow false prophets rather than those men sent of God who spoke the Word of God plainly.

Yet, in wrath our God remembers mercy. He promised to some, an elect remnant among those disobedient Jews deliverance, undeserved, merciful deliverance, miraculous deliverance, deliverance which had the unmistakable stamp of Divinity upon it. And the deliverance promised was clearly designed and executed as a picture of something far greater. The entire story is a clear picture of God’s free grace in Christ and the salvation of His elect, the true Israel of God by His free, omnipotent, irresistible grace and power.

1. We all, like the Jews of old turned aside from our God, His Word, His way, and His worship, and went whoring after other gods, according to our own lusts.

2. The Lord God, in His Word, has threatened severe, but just and everlasting punishment to be executed upon us for our sin.

3. Yet, in wrath, our God remembers mercy. He has promised that He shall save some of Adam’s fallen race by His almighty, free grace in Christ.

4. That One who is our Savior and Deliverer, God’s dear Son, our all glorious Christ, is here called — “The Breaker.”

Proposition: Christ is “the Breaker” and all who are saved by Him are described as “the broken up.”

Let’s look at this remarkable prophetic description of our Savior and God’s great salvation in and by Him line by line. May God the Holy Spirit be our Teacher.

Salvation Sure

First, the Lord God here makes a promise and assures us of its accomplishment. He promises to save all His elect. — “I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel!” What a promise! What a blessed assurance. Clearly, this word of promise cannot be applied to the physical nation of Israel. Many of that physical nation died in Babylon. Many others did not return from Babylon, but chose to remain in their land of captivity. So this promise must refer to another group of people and to another deliverance. Indeed it does. Here our God promises that He will save all His elect, all “the Israel of God,” all of Abraham’s spiritual seed, every sinner Christ Jesus came in the fulness of time to save by His blood (Romans 11:26-27; John 10:16).

(Romans 11:26-27) “And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 27 For this [is] my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.”

(John 10:16) “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, [and] one shepherd.”

This sweet promise, — “I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel!” — was made for the comfort of the God’s people, in the teethe of the terrible storm about to befall them. It is God’s intent to comfort His saints with this word of assured grace and brace their hearts for the bitter days about to come upon them. Take God’s word to heart my brother, take it to heart my sister. No matter how bleak the day may seem, no matter how dark the times are, no matter how tempestuous the storm, the Lord God says, — “I will surely gather the remnant of Israel, the remnant according to the election of grace!” There is yet a remnant whom the Lord has reserve for Himself. They shall be gathered effectually by the grace of God unto Christ Jesus, their Savior. They shall now seek after Him with all their hearts. They shall be joined to His Church. They shall be united to His family and His people, embracing His Gospel, submitting to His ordinances, and worshipping at His footstool.

This is the day of which He spoke. There is “one fold” for the Lord’s sheep. In it you find Jews and Gentiles, rich and poor, bond and free, male and female, black and white. And there is “one Shepherd” over them, the Lord Jesus Christ, our God and Savior.

Read on…

“I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah.” — Bozrah was place well known for its lush, rich pastures. The Lord God is saying, “When He has gathered His sheep, the Good Shepherd will take good care of them (Psalm 23:1-6). They shall have a good fold and good pastures provided for them, where they shall feed together in the comfort of absolute security and in sweet unity and affection, as sheep of one fold with one Shepherd.”

“As the flock in the midst of their fold” they shall lie down safely and rest quietly (Ezekiel 34:13-14).

“And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and [in] a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.” (Ezekiel 34:13-14)

“They shall make great noise by reason [of the multitude] of men.” — “There were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever” (Revelation 11:15).

(Revelation 14:1-3) “And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty [and] four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. 2 And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: 3 And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred [and] forty [and] four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.”

THE BREAKER

Next, we are told in verse 13 that “The Breaker is come!” This almighty Breaker is the Lord Jesus Christ.

He came up as the Breaker from everlasting. — In the council of peace, the Divine decree was broken open and the Son of God stood forth as the Surety of God’s elect. He it was who alone was found worthy to take the book of God’s eternal purpose out of the hand of Him that sat upon the throne. Christ alone, as the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world, is worthy and able to loose the seals of the book, break it open, and fulfill its decrees.

It was this same Holy One, our Lord Jesus Christ, who, when He found it written of Him in the volume of His Father’s book (The Book of His Decrees and The Book of Inspiration) that He should fulfill the law of the Lord for chosen sinners, cried out, “Lo, I come. I delight to do thy will, O God.”

(Psalms 40:6-10) “Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required. (7) Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, (8) I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart. (9) I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O LORD, thou knowest. (10) I have not hid ¹thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared ²thy faithfulness and ³thy salvation: I have not concealed ⁴thy lovingkindness and ⁵thy truth from the great congregation.”

In the fulness of time our all-glorious Christ came up as a Breaker in this world. He came into the world to break down the wall of separation between God and His chosen, to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself, and to open, by His precious shed blood, a new and living way by which sinners might draw near to God with full assurance of acceptance upon the basis of pardoned sin (Hebrews 10:19-22).

“Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; 21 And [having] an high priest over the house of God; 22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.” (Hebrews 10:19-22)

Our Lord Jesus, by His one great sacrifice, forever put away all the sins of His people, forever silenced the accusations of Satan, forever freed us from the curse and penalty of God’s holy law, and forever justified and sanctified every sinner for whom He bled and died upon the cursed tree. This great work He did by Himself alone, when He who knew no sin was made sin for us.

(Romans 8:1-4) “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (2) For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. (3) For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: (4) That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

(Galatians 4:4-6) “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, (5) To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. (6) And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.”

(Hebrews 10:5-10)  “Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: (6) In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. (7) Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. (8) Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; (9) Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. (10) By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

After He lay in the grave for three days, the almighty Breaker came forth from the dead, bursting asunder the bars of death. Triumphant over death, hell, and the grave, He proved Himself to be the Breaker spoken of by the prophet Micah, passing through the gate before us as our great Head, Representative, Lord, and King. — “Their King shall pass before them, and the Lord on the head of them.”

It was not possible that death could hold Him. Because He had put away sin, God’s Holy One could not see corruption. His holy soul must not and could not see corruption. Therefore the almighty Breaker broke through all the obstacles before Him as our Representative, ascended up on high, led captivity captive, and entered into heaven, having obtained eternal redemption for us! There He sat down upon His throne, took possession of heaven as our Forerunner, and ever lives to make intercession for us according to the will of God. Thank God for this almighty Breaker, Christ Jesus!

(Hebrews 1:1-3)  “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, (2) Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; (3) Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;”

(Hebrews 6:19-20)  “Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; (20) Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.”

(Hebrews 7:25)  “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”

(Hebrews 9:12)  “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.”

(Hebrews 10:11-14)  “And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: (12) But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; (13) From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. (14) For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.”

At the appointed time, in the day of His great, saving power, Christ Jesus the Breaker, our almighty Savior and King, breaks into the hearts of chosen, redeemed sinners and establishes His kingdom in His people, making them His willing subjects.

(Psalms 65:4)  “Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.”

(Psalms 110:3)  “Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.”

At the appointed time, in “the time of love” appointed by God the Father for the birthing, effectual calling, and conversion of our souls, the Lord Jesus, by His sovereign Holy Spirit, came as the almighty Breaker, in all the glorious force and power of His irresistible grace into our hearts.

He did not stand outside our hearts’ doors and meekly knock, hoping and pleading that we might, by the mere exercise of our wills, let Him in. Had he done so, we would yet be without life before God. This almighty, saving, gracious, effectual Breaker, broke into our hearts and took possession of our souls.

When He came in, He brought his welcome with Him, causing us to cry, “Come in! Come in Lord Jesus! Come, reign in me forever.” Oh, may this great saving Breaker break into your soul this day by His all-saving power and grace!

BROKEN UP

Third, according to our text (Micah 2:13), the Lord Jesus Christ is the Breaker and all who are saved by his grace are “broken up.” How I pray that God will be pleased this day to send His Word to your heart with such power and grace that you will be altogether “broken up” by His dear Son.

Look at Micah 2:13 again. It describes both Christ and His people. Our dear Savior is the Breaker who has come. Then the prophet speaks of God’s elect, saying, “They have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the Lord on the head of them.”

The Lord Jesus has, for those sinners saved by His grace, broken down the strongholds of sin and Satan in which we were bound all the days of our lives. He has broken down that wall of hatred and enmity in our hearts against the Lord God and against his Christ with which we were born. In that horrid state of hatred and enmity against God we would have died and perished forever, but for the sovereign grace and goodness of God in sending the Lord Jesus to us as the almighty Breaker who burst open the prison of darkness where we were held as willing captives by Satan. He broke the chains that held us. He brought us out!

These things being wrought in us and accomplished for us by His almighty grace, we are described as a people who, in His strength and by His grace, “have broken up, and have passed through the gate” of Satan’s dominion, “and are gone out by it” into the glorious liberty of the sons of God. Paul describes exactly the same thing in Colossians 2.

(Colossians 2:8-17)  “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. (9) For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. (10) And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: (11) In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: (12) Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. (13) And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; (14) Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; (15) And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. (16) Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: (17) Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.”

Is that your experience? Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your almighty Breaker? This Breaker is known by these sweet tokens of His saving power and grace. Those who are the objects of His love experience the transforming power of His grace. It is foolish to talk about believing Him, knowing Him, and worshipping Him, until we have experienced the power of His grace. Has your King and Lord thus passed before you? Has He thus passed before me? If He has, let us ever be on the look out for renewed visits of grace from Him. Oh, let this almighty, gracious Breaker come often to break us.

God only uses broken things; and none can break us but Christ, the Breaker.

(Zechariah 12:10)  “And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.”

There is no breaking of our souls, no breaking of our hard hearts, except “the King shall pass before” us, “and the Lord on the head of” us. The Lord Jesus Himself is King of Zion, King of saints, Who goes before His people as their King, before His subjects as their Prince, and before His sheep as their Shepherd before His flock. He is the true Jehovah, the Lord our Righteousness. He is at the head and is the Head of His Church, the Captain of our salvation, that is at the head of His armies, His chosen and faithful ones. And they follow and march after Him, at His command (Revelation 17:14; 19:14).

(Revelation 17:14) “These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him [are] called, and chosen, and faithful.”

(Revelation 19:14) “And the armies [which were] in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.”

The law may terrify; but it cannot break. Religion may tame us; but it cannot break us. We certainly cannot, even as believers, break ourselves. Only Christ can break us! Let Him, therefore, come often in His capacity as the Breaker to break down those remaining obstacles of doubt, and fear, and unbelief that constantly rise up in our hearts. Come, O Mighty Breaker! Break down all that remains of indwelling corruption and sin within me, by which these doubts and fears of unbelief get such a strong hold upon me.

Soon, our glorious Christ shall finally come in all His fulness as the Breaker. He will break through the clouds to judgment. He will break down every remaining evil in creation that keeps us from the perfect and everlasting enjoyment of Him. When He comes again, our mighty Samson will carry away the gates of our prison, the grave, and set all His ransomed prisoners free, free forever! Hasten the day, blessed Savior!

(1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)  “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. (14) For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. (15) For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. (16) For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: (17) Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (18) Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”

Come quickly with a glory infinitely surpassing all conception. Come, show Yourself, in the full display of Your sovereignty, power, and grace, as the almighty Breaker!

Amen.

Don Fortner

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