Lizzie Dorey, one of the 6pm associates, reflects on Sunday night's sermon on Micah 3:1-12

I don’t know about you but I struggled not to squirm in my seat during Sunday evening’s sermon. Micah doesn’t hold back, does he?

God’s judgement is definitely something I shy away from talking about. There are other controversial aspects of the gospel that we might be nervous to tackle. But I don’t think I realised just how unwilling I was to talk about judgement before spending some time on Charlie’s question, ‘How would your friends describe your God?’ It really forced me to be honest with myself. Have a think on this one if you haven’t already!

The real discomfort of Sunday night came as Micah put his finger on exactly why I stay quiet. Friends may think some of the gospel sounds eccentric, but it is God’s judgement which offends them because it is judgement that implies guilt. I would rather keep the peace and enjoy a pleasant evening than risk annoying my friend; I’d rather avoid the awkward silence and have a happy catch-up with my grandma instead. And this isn’t just cowardice; Micah revealed an even more unpleasant truth – as I choose camaraderie over truth we prove ourselves corrupt.

I know a lot of us left feeling convicted that to act with integrity we must speak about judgement, but Charlie also really helped us see why we should want to speak about God’s judgement. Jeremiah 26:16-19 showed us that God used Micah’s faithfulness to his message to bring Israel to repentance and save Jerusalem from judgement. God’s judgement is a hard truth to tell and a hard truth to hear. But it is part of God’s wonderful gospel. It is truth that is powerful to save a city and powerful to save those we speak to. Isn’t this a real encouragement to speak next time we are tempted to choose friendship and respect over truth?

This was such a helpful correction to hear. And particularly timely in the approach to the week of talks as we hopefully get the chance to have lots more chats with people off the back on invitations. Let’s be praying and reminding each other of the seriousness of choosing not to speak about judgement, but also the honour we have in being God’s spokesmen of truth that has the power to save.