Remembering God's Power.

Habakkuk 3:1–16 NIV

A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. On shigionoth. Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy. God came from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. His glory covered the heavens and his praise filled the earth. His splendor was like the sunrise; rays flashed from his hand, where his power was hidden. Plague went before him; pestilence followed his steps. He stood, and shook the earth; he looked, and made the nations tremble. The ancient mountains crumbled and the age-old hills collapsed— but he marches on forever. I saw the tents of Cushan in distress, the dwellings of Midian in anguish. Were you angry with the rivers, Lord? Was your wrath against the streams? Did you rage against the sea when you rode your horses and your chariots to victory? You uncovered your bow, you called for many arrows. You split the earth with rivers; the mountains saw you and writhed. Torrents of water swept by; the deep roared and lifted its waves on high. Sun and moon stood still in the heavens at the glint of your flying arrows, at the lightning of your flashing spear. In wrath you strode through the earth and in anger you threshed the nations. You came out to deliver your people, to save your anointed one. You crushed the leader of the land of wickedness, you stripped him from head to foot. With his own spear you pierced his head when his warriors stormed out to scatter us, gloating as though about to devour the wretched who were in hiding. You trampled the sea with your horses, churning the great waters. I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled. Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us.

Introduction: When we hear from God, what is your response?

19 - Waiting is Difficult.

Waiting for something you are excited about is difficult, but waiting for something you dread is worse. - Test results, a difficult conversation, a difficult reality (foreclosure).

1. Habakkuk 3:16: “I hear, and my body trembles; my lips quiver at the sound; rottenness enters into my bones; my legs tremble beneath me. Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us.” This section concludes with Habakkuk saying, “I am afraid. I know and understand that hard days are ahead. The Chaldeans are going to invade Israel and it will not be pleasant; in fact, it will be terrible. But as you have been faithful in the past, I know you will be faithful in the future. I know that your wrath will fall upon them. God. I embrace what you’re doing, even if I still have a hard time grasping it all.”

Habakkuk - Why God are you allowing Evil and Injustice in Israel?

God - I am sending the Babylonians

Habakkuk - They are worse, how can a pure God allow evil all together.

God has the long game of redemption in mind, Evil will implode on itself, but the righteous will live by Faith.

Habakkuk models for us both waiting, lamenting, but also Remembering.

20 - Remembering God’s Past Gives us Hope for the Future.

- Google reviews are a powerful thing. Why do we do this? Because past performance can be a good indicator of future results. In the same way, when we have a great experience with something, we are typically eager to tell others about it.

- The same principle is true in our faith. The Bible is a story of the redemption of humankind. It’s a story of God’s holiness and his faithfulness throughout history.

- Our testimony is powerful as well. Revelation 12:11 tells us that the enemy is overcome by the blood of the Lamb (Christ crucified) and the word of our testimony. When we see God’s faithfulness in past situations, it gives us hope for present and future situations.

- Verses 3–16 recall incredible things that God has done in the past. This makes Habakkuk 2:2–3 even more powerful. God’s answer was basically, “Write this down so future generations will know that I did what I said I would do.”

- Teman and Mount Paran - Refers to the area where Moses Met God.

- Brightness of light - Remembering God on Mount Sinai showing himself to the people - leading by cloud and pillar of fire.

- Disease and Pestilence - We are reminded of the plagues of Egypt, and God saved Judah from Assyria by striking the army dead with a disease.

- The mountains of old - mountains are where people worshipped their gods, and so this is a reference of all of the gods Yhwh defeated, from Egypt’s gods in the Exodus, to all of the gods as they took over the promised land, to the Philistine gods.

- Tents of Cushan and Midian - How these nations trembled as Israel went through their lands having heard about the Exodus.

- The imagry of the seas and torrents of Water - Parting of the Red Sea, and parting of the Jordan for crossing.

- Possibly the head of the house pierced by his own arrows - Sennacherib’s two sons kill him by stabbing him in the back as he worships an idol.

Habakkuk remembers these many ways that God protected Israel through his Power. vs. 13, “You went forth for the salvation of your people for the salvation of your anointed.”

- My Calling reminds me of why I do what I do.

- Childhood miracles that remind me of God's desire to endear me to Jesus.

- Trials that God got me through - times when we had financial stress and God saw us through it.

- Bring the book of Ben's Caring Pages. - A Testimony of God's goodness, along with Benjamin's Parables. - Scripture as a Record of God's faithfulness throughout history.

Remembering Gods’ Power from the Past gives us Hope for the Future.

What are some ways?

21 - How to Remember.

- Being faithful and disciplined in our communication with God when things are good is a huge help in our communication with him when things are difficult. It’s easy to trust in ourselves and our circumstances when everything is going as we want it to. It’s easy to forget that every breath is a gift from God. We like to think we are in control, when we really aren’t. The more familiar we are with the goodness of God in our everyday lives, the easier it will be to recall his faithfulness when he seems distant or unfair.

- One of the reasons to come to Worship - We recount the Mighty Deeds of God, especially in Jesus Christ.

- Thursday Thanksgiving Prayers

Why we do Holy Ghost Stories

- As God instructed Habakkuk to write down the vision in Habakkuk 2:2, so we would do well to write down things that God reveals to us, to write down his faithfulness.

- Journaling

- writing in the margins of your Bible can help you remember that God has spoken to you in the past.

- How many great memories or thoughts have you had that are now forgotten because they weren’t written down? Funny things your children said or did. Meaningful things a family member or friend said or did.

- It is even easier in today’s world, with all the technology we have at our fingertips. Writing in blogs, documents, digital notebooks, and even social media can help us remember the faithfulness of God.

- This week take some time each day to jot down things you are thankful for or things God has provided for you.

- Write down your testimony.

- Write down experiences you have had in his presence.

- Take notes in church and when you read.

- You never know when these moments may be the very thing that the future you needs to read or hear.

Conclusion: We may not like God’s answers in the short term, and that is OK. At the Same time those who follow Jesus will see the hope of God’s promises by looking back and seeing his faithfulness. The Faith in a Faithful God will get us through.