Come and Die

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

was born in 1906 in Breslau, Germany to very successful and prominent family. At age 14 he felt the call of God on his life and pursued the ministry. He became an ordained minister in his 20’s, during the same period of Hitler’s rise in Germany. Surrounded by chaos and controversy within the German Evangelical Church, Bonhoeffer was bold in his faith, speaking against the rise of the Nazi party and its influence in the church. He became involved with underground seminaries and churches, consistently in danger. In 1939 he was invited to leave Germany and attend Union Theological Seminary in New York. After two weeks in New York, he regretted his decision and returned to Germany. He wrote “I have come to the conclusion that I made a mistake in coming to America this time. I must live through this difficult period in our national history along with the people of Germany. I will have no right to participate in the reconstruction of Christian life in Germany after the war if I do not share the trials of this time with my people.” He was imprisoned in 1943 and executed in April 1945. It was reported that Bonhoeffer said to a fellow prisoner as he was led off to be hanged, “This is the end - but for me it is the beginning of Life!”

Bonhoeffer decided it was better to do what he believed he was called to do rather than live in safety.

Habakkuk

Our focus tonight will on the book of Habakkuk. Habakkuk was a prophet during and after the time of King Josiah. The reign of King Josiah was a time of revival in Judah. The kingdom of Judah had previously suffered from poor leadership under Kings Manasseh and Amon. Baal worship and child sacrifice was prevalent throughout the kingdom. There was all manner of prostitution and foreign gods being celebrated and worshipped. During Josiah’s time as King, he destroyed the idols, killed the priests and prostitutes of these foreign gods, and ended the ritual sacrifice of children.

God was pleased with Josiah, but 2 Kings 23:26 says that Lord was still angry because of the actions of the previous kings.

Josiah died in battle at Megiddo and Judah returned to its previous ways. This is the time of Habakkuk. Familiar with prosperity and revival but living in circumstances of chaos and destruction. Habakkuk 2:4

King James Version (Chapter 2)

Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him:

But the just shall live by his faith.

PRAY

Hard Times Expose Distorted Vision

Difficult seasons and trials can reveal our distorted vision of God. Many times we can develop this idea of God that He will never let anything bad happen to us, and because of that, when certain events take place, our faith in God is shaken. We have no explanation for what is going on. We start to doubt God, because “ A good God wouldn’t allow this to happen”.

There is a similar dynamic at play here in Habakkuk. It begins with a prayer, a plea to God. Habakkuk is surrounded by trouble and wickedness, and in his mind, a good God would not stand by and do nothing.

Habakkuk 1:2–4 ESV

O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted.

The prophet sees the injustices around him and wonders out loud why God is not intervening. He is praying and praying and praying and it seems like there’s nobody listening. This is not something trivial either, he is not praying about getting into a fender bender or people are being rude to him at work. He is talking about VIOLENCE, DESTRUCTION. People are being hurt and abused, and there is no justice to be found.

He cannot make it make sense. If God is a good and holy God, why does He allow this wickedness?? The righteous are persecuted and nobody is coming to save them.

But God does hear, and he has plans already prepared that we would not believe. Here is God’s response to Habakkuk.

Habakkuk 1:5 ESV

“Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.

Can you imagine what is going through the prophet’s mind right now? The victory and revival he would be expecting after hearing this. Finally, this circumstance will end, and your life and all the lives of those you care about are going to be saved. But God has more to say. Habakkuk 1:6-11:

Habakkuk 1:6–11 ESV

For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, who march through the breadth of the earth, to seize dwellings not their own. They are dreaded and fearsome; their justice and dignity go forth from themselves. Their horses are swifter than leopards, more fierce than the evening wolves; their horsemen press proudly on. Their horsemen come from afar; they fly like an eagle swift to devour. They all come for violence, all their faces forward. They gather captives like sand. At kings they scoff, and at rulers they laugh. They laugh at every fortress, for they pile up earth and take it. Then they sweep by like the wind and go on, guilty men, whose own might is their god!”

What? God, I thought you were going to answer my plea with a solution. I thought you were going to end this violence and destruction. Why are you raising up the Babylonians to bring more?? How could this be God’s plan? This does not help me. This is not what I was praying for!

Sometimes we treat God like an easy button. God fix this, fix that, do it this way. Do what I want God! Serve me God. We pray for God to help us in the way that makes sense to us. We completely disregard God’s will in our lives.

Habakkuk responds to God in verses 12 through 13:

Habakkuk 1:12–13 ESV

Are you not from everlasting, O Lord my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O Lord, you have ordained them as a judgment, and you, O Rock, have established them for reproof. You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?

Now we question who God is. Are you not from everlasting?? Are you not the God who I thought you were? That God would not allow this to happen! Why would you use the wicked to bring judgement against us? We are bad but not that bad!

For some of us, this is where we give up. That’s it. I’m done. I tried. God isn’t real. We hit turbulence and quit. In the good times we profess Jesus, how we trust him with our lives, but the bad times come and we decide, oh I guess that Christianity stuff isn’t real. We profess our love for the Lord with our mouths, but in reality our hearts are far from Him.

Do not quit, do not run. As Pastor Scott said Sunday night, these times of tribulation are opportunities of blessing. The Lord is trying to do something in our lives and the lives of those around us. Do not resist Him!

Again the Lord responds to Habakkuk in Habakkuk 2:2-4

Habakkuk 2:2–4 (KJV)

And the LORD answered me, and said,

Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables,

That he may run that readeth it.

3  For the vision is yet for an appointed time,

But at the end it shall speak, and not lie:

Though it tarry, wait for it;

Because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

4  Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him:

But the just shall live by his faith.

Faith or Pride?

God’s answer to your prayers will happen in His timing. Not yours! Wait for it. In patience and obedience you will find blessing. Hold fast to God’s words and promises. Live by your faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The New Bible Commentary says faith can be described as a “trust which motivates one to obedience, being trustworthy or faithful in conduct , even to showing perseverance in times of testing.”

God uses faith in contrast with pride, Habakkuk 2:4

his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him. (ESV)

look, his ego is inflated, he is without integrity (CSB)

behold the proud, his soul in not upright within him (NKJV)

When we question God’s plans and timing or what is happening in our current circumstances, is that coming from a place of faith or pride?

Arrogance, reliance on your own understanding, pride and a puffed up soul will lead to destruction. You will never be at rest, anxiety and worry will rule over you because you refuse to trust God.

We all know the story of Job, a blameless and upright man, very wealthy and highly favored by God. After the Lord allows Satan to attack his family and wealth, Job understandably had some questions for the Lord. How did God respond? Job 38:1-7

Job 38:1–7 ESV

Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

God says who do you think you are?! We are not the same! When we find ourselves questioning the wisdom of God’s plan you are in dangerous territory. Are you lifting yourself up? Do you think your thoughts and ways are higher than the Lord’s?

Obedience Despite the Circumstances

You need a correct view of God in order to make it through this life with your faith intact. Job 42:5-6

Job 42:5–6 ESV

I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”

This is where salvation is found! When you see God for who he is, when you have an experience with the King, you are left with only one option. Surrender.

Many of you have grown up in church, you have heard the gospel, you have heard of the Lord. You may have even seen people in your life change and you hear there testimonies. But you have not had that same experience. Your whole church story up until this point has been hearing about what other people say about God, but you have nothing to say for yourself. This is my prayer for you tonight, that you see God for who He is! When you meet God, when you find yourself in His presence, there is only one proper response. Surrender.

Here in Habakkuk, the prophet responds to God with surrender

Habakkuk 3:16–19 ESV

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. Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places. To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.

When Dietrich Bonhoeffer was summoned for execution, a friend who witnessed the execution wrote the following: “I saw Pastor Bonhoeffer... kneeling on the floor praying fervently to God. I was most deeply moved by the way this lovable man prayed, so devout and so certain that God heard his prayer. At the place of execution, he again said a short prayer and then climbed the few steps to the gallows, brave and composed. His death ensued after a few seconds. In the almost fifty years that I worked as a doctor, I have hardly ever seen a man die so entirely submissive to the will of God.”

Philippians 2:8 ESV

And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Surrender is not something that God instructs us to do only. He did it Himself. The Almighty Most High God humbled himself and died for us. Can we not remember that during these times? When the call of God interferes with your plans, can you humble yourself and obey?

Jesus agonized in the garden. He asked the Father twice to let this cup pass. But each time that he asked, he ended with Your will be done. Surrender. And in that surrender, we have life.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in his book The Cost of Discipleship, wrote this: “The cross is laid on every Christian. The first Christ-suffering which every man must experience is the call to abandon the attachments of this world. It is that dying of the old man which is the result of his encounter with Christ. As we embark upon discipleship we surrender ourselves to Christ in union with his death—we give over our  lives to death. Thus it begins; the cross is not the terrible end to an otherwise god-fearing and happy life, but it meets us at the beginning of our communion with Christ. When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”

Is Christ calling you tonight?