Habakku 2:12-14 | Work Faithfully, Wait Paitntally

Please turn with me in your Bible to Habakkuk chapter 2. We’ll look at verses 12-14 together this morning, emphasizing verses 14.

› READ:

“Woe to him who builds a town with blood and founds a city on iniquity! Behold, is it not from the Lord of hosts that peoples labor merely for fire, and nations weary themselves for nothing? For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Habakkuk 2:12-14

› EXPLINATION/ILLUSTRATION:

The prophet Habakkuk wrote these words amidst confusing, discouraging, and troubling times. The Lord had revealed that Babylon would soon invade his homeland - a terrifying revelation.

Habakkuk describes how he felt in chapter 3, verse 16,

I hear, and my body trembles; my lips quiver at the sound; rottenness enters into my bones; my legs tremble beneath me. Habakkuk 3:16

Then, as the reality sank in, Habakkuk’s quivering lips turned into questioning lips, and he looked towards heaven and, out of confusion and frustration, said,

“Why do you look idly?”

And

“Why do you remain silent?”

These words, written over 2,600 years ago, are strikingly relevant to us today. When we look to the world-scene, and God seems more absent than present, and we all have far more questions than answers. This text reminds us that these struggles are not new.

There is a world that, much like Babylon, is hostile to the kingdom of Christ. This is why the New Testament use ancient Babylon as a metaphor for the world, who, like Babylon, only care about their own glory and not the glory of Christ.

This striving for human glory is something God hates with all his being. He will not allow those who seek to make a name for themselves to stand. This is why Habakkuk 2 lists judgments against Babylon. Because God alone is worthy of glory, honor, and praise, he will allow no rival, and anyone who stands against him will be destroyed.

› BRIDGE THE GAP:

These judgments, then, were intended to comfort Habakkuk. They reminded him, and they remind us, that despite the opposition we face, God is not silent. He is not ignorant of his people’s suffering or of the wicked who oppose them. He knows that the Kingdom of Christ is under assault by the Kingdom of Man. He sees it, He hears us, and He will act to bring an end to those who stand against the gospel.

Why will He do this? The answer is found in verse 14: God is determined that His glory, not man's glory, will fill His earth.

Do you see the connection? The great comfort of God’s people, when Satan opposes, when the world seeks to destroy us, is this wonderful truth: God’s glory, not man’s, will fill the earth. Given our emphasis on missions this morning, we could say it like this: God comforts His people in the midst of severe opposition with the promise of the success of international missions.

He tells us "Don’t fear Babylon because the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." This hope has sustained Christians in the darkest and most discouraging times throughout church history.

The kings and kingdoms of this earth rise and fall, political parties come and go, economic hardship ebbs and flows, all the while God and His purposes stand unfazed. His kingdom will win, and so we need not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be thrown into the heart of the sea.

In these ancient, but all too relevant words, our compassionate Father draws near us in our suffering, confusion, and hurt. We may not always understand the sovereign purposes of God in history, but we can always be confident of this - no matter how dark the night, God rules over the nations of men, and He is working in all things to build his church, not to destroy her.

Babylon will fall. The Kingdom of Man will fall, and the kingdom of Christ will last into eternity.

Let’s consider together these two kingdoms.

› TRANSITION:

First, let’s look at verses 12-13 and consider the Kingdom of Man.

› MAIN POINT 1:

› READ:

“Woe to him who builds a town with blood and founds a city on iniquity! Behold, is it not from the Lord of hosts that peoples labor merely for fire, and nations weary themselves for nothing?” Habakkuk 2:12-13

› EXPOSITION:

Do you see how Babylon is described here? They build on the blood and the backs of others. They use others to their advantage, to accomplish their own selfish ends. They are violent and oppressive.

This is true of every expression of the Kingdom of Man in this world: they build their own kingdom in a way that is foundationally selfish. Their motto is “my kingdom come; my will be done, and if you stand in my way, you will be crushed.” Sound familiar?

We see this clearly in our text, but it’s made even more explicit If we look back in chapter 1, verses 15-16

“He drags them out with a hook; he drags them out with his net; he gathers them in his dragnet; he so rejoices and is glad. for by them he lives in luxury and his food is made rich.” Habakkuk 1:15–16

What is described here is disturbing. To show their dominance over nations they conquered, Babylon would put hooks through the mouths and out the noses of their defeated enemies, then pull them in a line back to Babylon. And what life awaited these conquered nations? They would be used to build Babylonian homes and cities - an empire built on blood and iniquity.

› TRANSITION:

And as they did this with one nation after another, Babylon’s true intention was revealed: world domination.

Consider Habakkuk 2:5,

› READ:

“His greed is as wide as Sheol; like death he never has enough. He gathers for himself all nations and collects as his own all peoples.” Habakkuk 2:5

› EXPOSITION:

Like death that swallows up all people until all feel his power, so wicked Babylon seeks to extend its kingdom across the earth, extending to all people, conquering every nation, because the greed of the Kingdom of Man cannot be satisfied until his glory covers the earth.

› TRANSITION:

But Ironically, while they seek to establish for themselves peace and security by extending their rule, we find in chapter 2, verse 13 that their labors are ultimately futile because the Lord is not in them.

› READ:

“Behold, is it not from the Lord of hosts that peoples labor merely for fire, and nations weary themselves for nothing?” Habakkuk 2:13

› EXPOSITION:

From Babylon’s perspective, their glory is increasing, their security is being established, and an impressive nation is being built. But from God’s perspective, he looks down from his throne, and he is not impressed. He sees not glory, but a nation of bloodshed and iniquity, and so God will put an end to it. Their work if “for nothing.”

So it is all labor done for the glory of man — it comes to nothing.

All the selfish, self-promoting, self-advancing, self-glorifying works done in this world will be for nothing. It’s not worth it.

› TRANSITION:

Why is this? Because the Lord is jealous of his glory, he will not share it with another.

That is how our text describes the Kingdom of Man. Let’s turn now to verse 14 and consider the Kingdom of Christ.

› MAIN POINT 2:

› READ:

For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. (Habakkuk 2:14)

› TRANSITION:

Those who rage against the Kingdom of Christ will not stand because the Lord will ensure that his kingdom and his glory will fill his earth.

Let’s consider this kingdom further

› SUB-POINT 1:

First, let’s consider the nature of this kingdom.

› EXPOSITION:

This kingdom is characterized by the knowledge of the glory of the Lord. That is, for the citizens of this kingdom know the Lord deeply, intently, and personally. This is not a mere political kingdom, with people who take the name of Christ and some of the ethics of Christ, but know nothing of him.

“Knowing” in the Old Testament speaks of intimate, close knowledge. Like Abraham, who was called “a friend of God,” and like Moses, who spoke to God face-to-face.

That is emphasized again when Habakkuk writes that it is the knowledge of the “glory of the Lord” that will fill the earth. Think of the glory of the Lord which filled the tabernacle and the temple under the Old Covenant, when Israel saw the pillar of fire dwelling in their midst, there was no doubt that God was among them.

The knowledge of the Lord that only being in the very presence of His splendor and majesty can bring. Experiential knowledge, close and intimate companionship with Yahweh: this will fill the earth.

› GOSPEL / CHRIST-CONNECTION:

How do we come to know God in this way? Not in a temple in Jerusalem, but in the One who has revealed God to us.

Consider Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 4:6,

“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:6

What has been revealed to us? The knowledge of the glory of God in Christ. We find this relationship with God, in Jesus, the true and better temple, who brings to us true knowledge of God and friendship with God through the gospel.

This wonderful gospel that comes to us and proclaims to us that, although we once also labored for our glory in this world — although we were like Babylon and deserving of the same judgment — Jesus Christ came to earth to take that judgment for us.

You see, all of us are guilty of the sin of Babylon. All of us have sough fame and honor and prestige for ourselves. We have so often craved the applause of men and the approval of men, that is, we have craved our own glory. Have you ever sees others receiving the glory you desire, been jealous of that glory, and thought, “I want that.” This is the sin of Babylon.

And, sadly, there have been times we have even used others and put others down to get it. Have you ever directed glory away from another person and to yourself? Have you ever intentionally withheld encouragement and honor due to another? Have you ever thought to yourself that you deserve, not only the opportunities given to others, but craved the praise given to others, and have you ever acted our of pride to get it? This is the sin of Babylon. Truly, the heart of man, and the kingdom of man has not changed in the past 2,600 years. There is nothing new under the sun.

My dear friends, you and I have committed Babylon’s sin, and because of that, you and I deserve Babylon’s judgement. We deserve to have our names eternally cut off and all of our works come to nothing.

But the wonderful and glorious news of the gospel is this: that Jesus came to take that judgement for us. Jesus, who came not to be served but to serve — he gave his life as a ransom for many, and as he hung there on that cross, he took the judgement that you and I deserve - he was “cut off” so that we could becomes the friends of God.

And because Jesus took that punishment we deserve, God has mercifully rescued us from the Kingdom of Man and placed us into the Kingdom of his dear Son.

This kingdom, in which, every citizen, knows to the fullest extent, that God is their friend because of what Christ has done.

› TRANSITION:

This kingdom, of Christ in Habakkuk 2:14 is full of these rescued sinners, and as we read this text with our New Testament glasses on, we cannot help but see that Habakkuk, predicts a day when the gospel is believed throughout the world.

› SUB-POINT 2: The Extent of the Kingdom

Do you see that?

“the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord.”

› EXPOSITION:

What is the extent of this kingdom? It’s the earth. Every tribe, tongue, people, and nation will know Christ.

As if this language were not explicit enough, the Lord uses a picture: it’s just like how the waters cover the sea. As you go to the beach and look out at the ocean, and all of the sea is covered in water, so the earth in its entirety will be submerged in the knowledge of Christ.

That glory Moses experienced on Sinai, will be known on every mountain top on earth, as men and women become friends with God as they believe the gospel.

Babylon tried to fill the earth with their glory, and they failed. Christ will succeed.

In fact, when we take a step back and evaluate further these two kingdoms, we can see the Babylon, which was here today and gone tomorrow, served as nothing more than a foil of Christ and his kingdom, and so are all of the kingdoms of men, a mere cruel and twisted parody.

So much of the language used of Babylon is turned on its head when we consider its fulfillment in Christ and his church.

In a complete reversal of Babylon’s cruelty, Christ too called us to be fishers of men, but in a radically different sense than Babylon was — we bring men and women away from their striving and slavery to the one who says to them,

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

The Kingdom of Man may pull in men like a dragnet, but the Kingdom of Christ

it is like a dragnet that was throne into the sea and gathered fish of every kind until it was full. (Matthew 13:47)

As Christ brings into his kingdom a vast multitude that no man can count, and no person can number, we see that that terrifying description of Babylon is gloriously true of Jesus Christ,

“He gathers to himself all nations, and collects for himself all people.”

The wonderful good news of Habakkuk 2:14 is that the knowledge of the glory of the Lord that was felt and known in Israel will not just be felt and known in Israel but in Moscow, Beijing, Berlin, Washington D.C., New Delhi, Istanbul, Bangkok, Pretoria, Warsaw, and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Do you believe it?

What is our confidence that this will happen? Because, unlike Babylon, which was built by blood of slaves and through iniquity, this Kingdom is built upon the blood of Christ and his righteousness. That blood that was spilt upon the cross for us, and the gospel message that proclaims the good news that that blood has purchased for us forgiveness before God and friendship with God, that wonderful blood of Christ, which purchased men and women from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. God the Father looks upon that blood, and it is so precious to him that victory is certain. The blood of Christ was not spilt in vein, but it is certain to accomplish all that the Father intended.

And what does the Father intend? That the Lamb who was slain would receive the full reward of his suffering — a blood-bought bride made up of men and women from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation.

And so we say with the psalmist,

“Blessed be his glorious name forever; and may the whole earth be filled with his glory!” Psalm 72:19

› ILLUSTRATION/APPLICATION:

Oh, this vision, it encourages us, but it also confronts us. Because we feel as keenly as Habakkuk did that this vision hasn’t been realized yet. As many of us know, it’s all too common in the US for people to know of God but not to know God himself, and the same is true in the international church as well.

› ILLUSTRATION

A recent study found that Ethiopia is the most religious nation on earth. There are churches everywhere.

But another recent study suggested that only 3% of people in Addis Ababa truly understand and believe in the gospel. Let that sink in. In the capital city of the most religious nation on earth, 97% of the people here are headed towards a Christless eternity.

The Ethiopian Orthodox church is present throughout this city—where, much like Catholics here, the name of Jesus is known but the gospel of Jesus is not.

As for the protestant churches, they are more than not enslaved to the false teaching of the prosperity gospel.

One evening while I was teaching at a local Bible college in Addis Ababa, one of my students began having a seizure as I was finishing up a class. Another student was able to help him as I finished teaching. After the class, I approached him and asked if he was OK and if there was anything I could do to help him. He told me he had had epileptic seizures since birth. He told me terrible stories of him waking up at the bottom of a flight of stairs, having fallen on them during a seizure. Of him waking up with his face in a puddle, having almost drowned. Of him waking up with his head in the middle of a busy road with cars rushing by. Then he looked up at me and said, “I hate God because he hasn’t kept his promises to me.” This man had been promised that if only he gave his life to Jesus, his sickness would be gone, he would have all the money he needed, and he would have all the children he wanted. And he had bought into the lies of the prosperity gospel.

I spoke with a man recently who told false apostle came to him and said God told him to sell all his belongings, give the apostle the money, and go and live in the mountains alone. And this man did just that. He told me he lived alone for three years before returning to Addis. And he said he only came back because he was starving to death.

Even in the most religious nation on earth, there are people like Paul described in Romans 9, “they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.”

The Lord says this isn’t enough. He will not only be heard of but he must also be known. The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea, but we’re not there yet.

› TRANSITION:

So what do we do? How do we live as those who desire and pray for Christ’s kingdom to come but, like Habakkuk, are aware of the many ways in which it hasn’t yet?

For the answer to that question, let’s look back further in chapter 2, verses 2 through 4.

› READ:

“And the Lord answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.” Habakkuk 2:2-4

› EXPOSITION/APPLICATION:

The simple answer is this: we live by faith. We live a life of undisturbed confidence in the God who always accomplishes his will, a life lived in faithful trust, steady confidence, and sure conviction that the Lord, his purposes, and his kingdom will win, no matter how strongly the enemy may rage. It’s a life of inner stability amid outer chaos.

Part of faith is believing that the Lord is accomplishing his purpose in the world, even when current events seem to deny that. Even when it feels like the enemy is winning, the life of faith stands unmoved. Because

“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

But what does that look like in the day-to-day? I believe This verse gives us two principles that will help us.

The life of faith works faithfully for the kingdom's progress and waits patiently for the fullness of the kingdom.

Or, put simply, we work faithfully and wait patiently.

› SUB-POINT 1:

First, we work faithfully.

› READ:

“And the Lord answered me: ‘write the vision’ make it plain to tablets, so that he may run who reads it.” Habakkuk 2:2

› EXPOSITION:

The Lord wanted Habakkuk to make this message of kingdom-victory clear, easy to remember and repeat. Why? Because he wanted the person who read it to be able to run with it. The Lord wanted this message to spread from person to person, from house to house, city to city, and nation to nation through people who heard it and ran with it. People like you and me who hear the message and who share it. People who sit down with those they love and say, “I’ve got something I need to tell you: Jesus Christ died for sinners.”

This might be the closest verse we get in the Old Testament to what will later become,

Matthew 28:19-20: Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations.

Run with it!

So we must labor. We must get our hands dirty with confident assurance and unshakeable faith that the Lord will be victorious.

› ILLUSTRATION:

When the missionary William Carey argued in the late 1700s for the importance of for international missions, he was told by an older member present, "Young man, sit down! You are an enthusiast. When God pleases to convert the heathen, he'll do it without consulting you or me."

› ILLUSTRATION/APPLICATION:

We hear that and find it hard to believe that anyone would say that, but do we live our lives as if this is true? Do we pray for the conversion of our neighbors and family members without actually sharing the good news with our neighbors and family members?

The Lord will make his kingdom come, but he uses means. He uses people like you and like me. He uses conversations over coffee and meals. He uses invitations to church and bible studies. He uses moments where we simply say, “can I pray for you?”

Brothers and sisters, we are members of a kingdom that cannot be shaken; let us labor for it with unshakable faith. It is the Kingdom of Man that is laboring for nothing. Not us.

“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be stedfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 15:58

When true confidence in the success of the kingdom of Christ sinks in, the result is always faith in the face of impossible circumstances.

John Knox records this in his journal when he came to preach the gospel in Newcastle:

I was surprised; so much drunkenness, cursing and swearing (even from the mouths of little children) do I never remember to have seen and heard before in so small a compass of time. Surely this place is ripe for Him who came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance

He records later in that same journal,

God did so multiply our number that it appeared as if men had rained from the clouds.

My Friends, God the Father said to his Son:

Ask of me and I will make the nations your inheritance and the ends of the earth your possession, and God the Son did not forget to ask. No, he asked and the Father has given him the world. And that promise must drive us to evangelism. Because no matter what we may hear, Christ’s church is not on the wrong side of history, and our message of Christ and him crucified is the final word this world will hear. So let us share that message with certain confidence that Christ will win.

Has fear ever kept you from sharing the gospel? Fear of rejection, fear of misunderstanding, fear of being thought of as a fanatic? What this text calls us to is faith that looks beyond that fear, and faith that speaks out the only message of hope in this dying world. While we might be tempted to see those greatly entrapped in their sin as too far away from the kingdom of God for evangelism to be effective, faith sees an opportunity for Christ to be greatly glorified, and faith believes that the “sword” we’ve been given for the battle is the power of God to salvation for all people, not just the ones we feel are more likely to accept the message. Part of faith is believing that that sword of the gospel is truly power, that it truly cuts deep into the heart to reveal our need for Christ and turn us into friends of God.

Sharing the gospel often feels weak and ineffective precisely because it is the wisdom of God and not the wisdom of men. It is called “the sword of the Spirit” and “the armor of God” for a reason - because it’s not from us. Eyes of faith can see, that what feels so very weak to us, in the eyes of heaven, we are wielding a weapon more powerful than you and I could ever know, and when we proclaim that Christ died for sinners, of whom we are the foremost, the gates of hell tremble with fear, for they have no counter attack. That, and that alone, is the message that will changes the world.

And allow me to encourage you, church, because, in a very real way, you all have invested in this kingdom of Christ so faithfully as you have invested in the Granger family. Though my family is just meeting you today, Michael has shared much about you to us already. He has shared that you are a church that has done much to encourage him, and much to invest your finances into Trinity Fellowship. In a very real way, the fruit we’ve seen these past four years in Addis Ababa would have been impossible apart from you, and while my family and the Grangers might be the ones living in Ethiopia, as Paul uses the analogy of the body to describe the church, we have accomplished this work together: we may be the feet walking on the ground, and we may be the mouths that have spoken the gospel, but you all have been the hands folded in prayer, and the hands extended in giving. There is much fruit being born, and the Kingdom of Christ is making rapid advancements in Addis Ababa, and that fruit is shared fruit - we have done it together.

When Dylan came to visit us in Addis this past Summer, one man from our church named Sirac, said to him to personally thank all, because without you, he would not be a Christian. Without you, he would still be far off in Babylon, striving for glory and honor. But one day, as he saw a large group of people walking into our church, he decided to join them. And on that day he heard this same wonderful gospel message that we are celebrating together this morning. The Lord won his heart, and Christ added yet another member to his kingdom.

His gratitude represents the feeling of so many more, and as we’ve continued to see Trinity Fellowship grow, and we’ve heard time and again that the members of our church had never heard the gospel before coming to our church and hearing Michael preach. In fact, this Sunday, while we were still sleeping here in Southern California, Trinity Fellowship held their Sunday Service, and we saw 43 new members added to our church. Thank you for working faithfully right along side of us.

› TRANSITION:

But that’s not all this passage leaves us with. It comforts us with promises of victory, but it also consoles us when victory seems so far off.

We not only work faithfully but...

› SUB-POINT 2:

Second, we wait patiently.

› READ:

“For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end — it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.” Habakkuk 2:3

› Exposition/Application:

The Lord knows our impatience and tendencies towards discouragement when things don’t work out like we had hoped, in the way we had hoped, or in the timeline we had hoped. The kingdom comes slowly, and the longer we live, the slower it seems.

But this verse gives us confidence that, though the spread of Christ’s kingdom in this world may be slow, it won’t be late.

Like Gandalf, it arrives precisely when it means to.

› Exposition/Illustration:

When it says that it “hastens to the end,” we’re meant to feel urgency, and it’s even more explicitly urgent in the original. This could be translated as “pants” for the end or “breathes” for the end. There’s a sense of longing for the fulfillment of this prophecy, intending to show us God’s desire for his kingdom to come. He shares that with us, and desires it more than we do.

› Exposition/Application:

Christ’s kingdom will surely come, and if it seems slow, wait for it. Don’t lose heart. Don’t become discouraged. Keep laboring. Keep waiting.

In our zeal for the kingdom to come, let us not forget these words,

“The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” Matthew 13:31-32

It grows like a tree, and that takes time. But it does grow, and it will come. Despite humble beginnings and despite human estimations, the kingdom of God will grow until it is obvious that it is the most significant reality in all the world, the dominating force of history.

› Exposition/Application:

So don’t lose heart.

When you share the gospel again, and it is rejected again.

When your prayers for your wayward child feel like they never make it past the ceiling.

When you long for the conversion of your friend, your spouse, your co-worker, and when you’ve faithfully scattered seed that only lands on hard ground.

Don’t lose heart.

› Application/Summary:

Why? Because while the life of faith knows how to works faithfully, it equally knows how to wait patiently.

Holding these two realities in check protects us from the duel traps of naïve optimism and nihilistic pessimism because it’s easy to fall into one extreme or the other.

› Illustration

After working and waiting in India for five and a half years, the missionary William Carey finally saw his first conversion. On the evening of his baptism, he wrote,

“He was only one, but a continent was coming behind him. The divine grace which changed one Indian’s heart could obviously change a hundred thousand. The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord – that is enough. We can afford to work in faith, for Omnipotence is pledged to fulfill the promise...The seed being sown, the least of all seeds now, but it will grow a mighty tree. It is as it were a small stone cut out of a mountain, but it will fill the whole earth.”

That is the model of working faithfully and waiting patiently. Christians must be in it for the long-game, not for immediate results.

Allow me to encourage you once again, because there has been many times in the history of our church and college, that you have stood by us when things were hard. Just a couple of years ago, you stood by us in a significant way when you welcomed Michael’s family at the most intense point of Ethiopia’s civil war, when rebel forces were less than 100 miles outside of our city.

What kept us through those dark nights were these truths from Habakkuk, and even when we don’t see it, the kingdom of Christ is moving forward. The headlines of earth may tempt us to consider our efforts as worthless, but the headlines of heaven are always the same: “The nations rage, but he who sits enthroned in heaven laughs…and...he must rain until his enemies are made a footstool for his feet.” And part of faith is trusting that this is always true, even when all our circumstances seem to deny it.

Part of faith is believing that our present experiences don’t necessarily indicate God’s ultimate purposes, his purposes of our lives, and his purposes for his kingdom as a whole. Part of faith is looking to the promises of God and trusting that God is working to make good on those promises even when all the evidence seems to say otherwise.

› Application

We look beyond our circumstances to the promises of God, and we work faithfully and we wait patiently.

We sing with Martin Luther that,

“Though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God hath willed his truth to triumph through us.”

› Conclusion

One day, our prayers, “your kingdom come,” will turn into a joyful celebration,

“the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.” Revelation 11:15

Until that day, we must work faithfully, knowing that one day we will no longer be working; we will be resting.

And until that day, we must wait patiently, knowing that one day we will no longer be waiting, but we will see him face-to-face.

All will be made right, our striving will be over, and the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.