THE CRINGIEST SAYING OF CHRISTIANITY IS TRUE

Introduction

intro myself.

I grew up in church. I love church. I love being a Christian. It is my favorite thing about me lol.

And we all know the cringe parts of Christianity, particualrly the sayings.

“Be still and know that i am God.”

“God gives his toughest battles to his strongest warriors.”

or my favorite “Jordan, your tattoos are gonna send you to hell.”

We have seen these on iphone wallpapers, the quilted pillowcases in your nanas bedroom and cursive arm tattoos.

Church has language because Christianity is a culture.

It is built on Christ, it is built on the scriptures, and you know what? it produces certain phrases and types of language.

It produces Christianese.

If you take notes, this sermon is titled “WHY THE CRINGIEST SAYING OF CHRISTIANITY IS TRUE”

That saying is this: let go and let God. you can practically see the poster with doves flying around it.

Today, im going to teach the book of Habakkuk.

Who here has ever head a sermon from Habakkuk?

WOW WHAT AN HONOR HAHAH

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ME.

I have always in some way, had a connection to our Lord. Part of my story is that in my high school years i struggled with self-harm, suicidal thoughts, all that nastiness.

I was a churched kid. I in a sense—knew the gospel.

But, I didn’t know God.

I denied him when i grew older. From 16-18 I would describe myself as a praying atheist.

I was 17, depressed, anxious, and constantly worn down by shame. But, I still prayed. For some reason prayer was still attractive to me.

Because—and it is much more than this—it was giving my feelings, my insanely chaotic thoughts, and all of the junk in my life and pushing it onto something Other.

Though I denied God, I still talked to Him.

And Habakkuk is similar. Habakkuk is faithful to God, but he doesnt pray like a sunday morning best christian.

Habakkuk is struggling. He feels God is far, he thinks his prayers are hitting the wall, he thinks God is being kind of a psycho, and so he gives his thoughts and junk to God and remains faithful to him.

CONTEXT

Contextually, here is where we are in the biblical story.

Israel is doing what they always do in the bible: dong literally everything wrong.

If you think God isn’t gracious, patient, and merciful you have not read the OT.

I mean these guys fail everytime. Anytime it is semi-good they start sacrificing kids and abandon God. It is insane.

They are violent, unjust, and worshipping other gods. Classic ancient israel.

The leaders are abusing their power, the law is doing nothing and isnt being administered, and those who are righteoues are being persecuted.

In the timeline, the Babylonians or Chaldeans are about to take over where Habakkuk is. Which you will read in the book of Daniel.

So Hab is crashing out. He is worried. He is a prophet who is concerned for his nation and is upset with God’s activity.

The outline of the book is this:

Habakkuk is worried God isn’t hearing his prayers and doing anything. He thinks God is passive.

2. God tells him “yeah hold up im gonna do something insane you wont believe.”

3. Hab wait.

4. God gives a little more info.

5. Hab praises God.

This book is unique because it is a written down conversation between Hab and God.

And it is all about this: what do you do when your prayers feel like its hitting the wall. and the answer is that you have faith.

Faith is this, Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.”

It is something we cannot see in which we hope for. God’s ultimate restoration.

BRISCOE STORY.

-Devout atheist.

-God sends him to a tiny christian school in kentucky to play soccer.

-he has to take a theology class.

-he is the worst most annoying student ever.

-his professor tells him to go to the chapel at night and talk to the wall.

-then at a texas roadhouse in the middle of nowhere a random man approaches him, asks him “Briscoe, you are going to travel around the world & tell people about the lord, go and make disciples”

-BRISCOE IS PRAYING HONESTLY IN A DARK CHAPEL IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE AND GOD SENDS A GUY TO PREDICT HIS NAME AND TO PROPHESY OVER HIM.

What we will see in Habakkuk is radical honesty, radical faith, and radical praise.

Habakkuk’s Honesty + God’s Wild Response (Hab 1.1-11)

He starts out with this Habakkuk 1:2–4 “How long, Lord, must I call for help and you do not listen or cry out to you about violence and you do not save? Why do you force me to look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Oppression and violence are right in front of me. Strife is ongoing, and conflict escalates. This is why the law is ineffective and justice never emerges. For the wicked restrict the righteous; therefore, justice comes out perverted.”

HABBAKUK IS PRESSING GOD

HE IS SAYING YEAH GOD YOU DONT LISTEN OR CARE ABOUT VIOLENCE IN YOUR CITY. YOU PRY MY EYES OPEN TO LOOK AT WRONGDOING AND IT SEEMS YOU JUST DONT CARE. YOUR LAW is not WORKing AND YOUR JUSTICE ISNT ANYWHERETO BE SEEN.

GOD YOU ARENT DOING ANYTHING. WHERE ARE YOU.

How often do we pray like this? As church kids we try to put on a happy face and say our prayers with a smile.

But Habakkuk is showing that prayer includes. Radical honesty. No mask. No front. He is questioning God.

This honesty is what God loves

Hab is showing us that part of being a prophet—a holy man or woman of God who knows God face to face and converses with him—is telling the truth to God. Being insanely honest.

When was the last time you went to your room alone and told God your experiences You just gave him your honest feelings, your sadnesses, your disappointments.

Our feelings and thoughts are not the truth, we should not root ourselves in our feelings or thoughts, but our feelings are real! and instead of worshipping them and going to the next mental health fad, we should give them to the Lord.

I like doing crazy stuff with my hair. hence the frosted tips.

I find it fun. Mixes things up, and im terrified of growing old so i bleach my hair to make me still think im 21.

but some of my students back home when i bleached my hair told me “i hate your hair it looks insane.”

did that hurt my feelings? yeah maybe a little. but i also felt like they trust me so much they can speak honestly to me without fear of breaking our relationship. they can give their honest opinion and their thoughts because they trust me.

thats what habbakuk is doing

WILD RESPONSE BY GOD

Then God says Habakkuk 1.5-6

Habakkuk 1:5–6 CSB

Look at the nations and observe— be utterly astounded! For I am doing something in your days that you will not believe when you hear about it. Look! I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter, impetuous nation that marches across the earth’s open spaces to seize territories not its own.

Habakkuk hears this and he is shocked.

He thinks:

You are gonna use this horrible, unjust, idolatrous nation to judge us and to ultimately free us?

This is like the Nba Championship OKC Thunder asking me to be on their starting five.

“Hey jordan i know you only played 7th grade junior high basketball, but we want you to replace shai.”

CAN YOU EVEN USE SOMEONE SO BAD AS ME TO WIN THE NBA TITLE.

AND HABBAKUK IS ASKING GOD YOU EVEN USE SUCH A HORRIBLE PEOPLE FOR YOUR GLORY AND ULTIMATE RESTORATION.

HABAKKUK DEATH PRAYER + MENTAL HEALTH WALK (Hab 1.12-17)

So, Hab is livid. He is crashing out. BEcause God is saying “ Im not gonna just gonna thanos snap and fix Israel.” He is gonna have Nebuchadnezzer and the babylonian boys come in and administer justice because Israel’s leaders certainly are not doing it. oof.

Then Hab prays a prayer that should have gotten him struck by lightning.

If i prayed like this, mike breen, all 7 foot 8 of him, would military tackle me into the drum set.

Habakkuk 1:12–13 CSB

Are you not from eternity, Lord my God? My Holy One, we will not die. Lord, you appointed them to execute judgment; my Rock, you destined them to punish us. Your eyes are too pure to look on evil, and you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. So why do you tolerate those who are treacherous? Why are you silent while one who is wicked swallows up one who is more righteous than himself?

ARE YOU NOT FROM ETERNITY.

ARE YOU NOT PERFECT

AND YOU ARE GONNA USE THIS WICKED PEOPLE.

That phrase “are you not from eternity” scholars say is actually a hebrew insult.

“i thought you were infinitely good and infinitely wise.” How could you let this happen?

but then he says, “My god, my holy one, we will not die.” your version might say you will not die, but this it talking about the people of israel.

Churched people think we have to be kind to God. We can’t be emotionally irregular with God, we have to be all clean and tidy.

Habakkuk is more honest than a church person but is more faithful than an atheist.

He restates his faith “MY GOD.” “MY HOLY ONE” YOUR COVENANT PEOPLE WILL NOT DIE OUT. YOU WILL NOT ABANDON. YOU ARE FAITHFUL.

This is our model:

So after praying this radically honest and radically faithful prayer, he goes on a mental health, emo walk.

Habakkuk 2:1 CSB

I will stand at my guard post and station myself on the lookout tower. I will watch to see what he will say to me and what I should reply about my complaint.

If this occured today habakkuk probably would have put his airpods with heavy metal emo music playing while he stares off in the distance like your favorite romantic movie protagonist after his girl leaves him.

Sometimes, when we are stressed and freaking out, we need to listen to some emo music and wait for God to respond.

Go for a walk. Wait on the Lord. Have faith. Faith is not this wuwu manifesting good things. Faith is clinging to God’s promises and God’s character.

Romans 8:28 CSB

We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

It is clinging to the cross when we have done wrong in the Lord’s eyes.

It is waiting for God to renew all things.

Life is hard. People are difficult and annoying. But, we can have faith that God will work it all out. Let go and let God baby.

GOD GIVES MORE INFO (Habakkuk 2.2-19)

Then God gives Hab more info after his emo, heavy metal mental health walk.

He tells Hab “hey write this down.” this is going to come to pass. even if it seems like it is never coming, wait fo rit.

Habakkuk 2:3–4 CSB

For the vision is yet for the appointed time; it testifies about the end and will not lie. Though it delays, wait for it, since it will certainly come and not be late. Look, his ego is inflated; he is without integrity. But the righteous one will live by his faith.

God wants him to write this down because he understand Hab’s humanity. Hab will forget. He will forget God is going to bring justice and fulfill his promises.

So this section is all for Habakkuk and the faithful people of God to have FAITH.

AND THATS WHY WE HAVE THE BIBLE. WHY WE HAVE THE BOOK OF REVELATION. TO KNOW GOD IS GONNA REDEEM IT ALL.

IN HEAVEN, ALL OUR SUFFERINGS WILL BE REDEEMED.

HABAKKUK GOES TO THE TOWER AND MAYBE HE EVEN SEE BABYLONIAN ARMIES FROM AFAR

YEAH I KNOW BABYLON IS COMING TO CONQUER US BUT I TRUST GOD. IT WILL WORK OUT. LET GO AND LET GOD.

For us, we can trust that if we want to be righteous, we will live in radical faith.

I once attended a church in portland oregon and the pastor announced the sunday i attended that he had cancer.

the room was somber, it was dark, there was so much unknown.

the calmest person in the room was the pastor who had the diagnosis.

ill never forget what he said “hey i believe in miraculous healing, i encourage you to pray for that. but in my personal time with the Lord i believe he has revealed that he is gonna work slowly and patiently.”

I want that faith.

God works two ways: quick and miraculously or slow and patiently.

Either way, we can trust his invisible hand guiding us.

Guiding us through our sorrow, our trials, our darkness, oru anxiety.

Without God, we have no root, no sovereign guide

The righteous one will live by faith.

HAVE FAITH man of God and woman of God. the Lord ends with this

Habakkuk 2:20 “But the Lord is in his holy temple; let the whole earth be silent in his presence.”

God is above all rulers, all trials, all situations, all evil, all the earth.

He is in his holy temple. Seated in it. He is calm. Collected. God is not having an anxiety attack.

That is why when we have our anxieties, our inner turmoils, our doubts about Him, we can turn to Him in prayer as Hab does. We can complain to him, be honest with him, and it will end how Habakkuk ends, with praise.

Habakkuk 3.1-19

Then Habakkuk praises God!

God says “Hey, I am over everything, I am not suprised that Babylon is about to take over my chosen people, in the end, the kingdom of light will win. Death and darkness will not have the final word.”

Maybe you are thinking this “Well, why couldn’t God just tell the people and prevent them from getting military conquested on.”

I don’t know. I really don’t. I could try and do this theological jedi move and explain suffering and hardships and why God uses them for His ultimate glory and our ultimate happiness. But i dont know.

I dont know why God lets sufferings overtake us. Maybe it is to build character who knows.

What I do know, is HABAKKUK IS THROWING A RAGER AFTER HEARING THIS.

He is pumped. He hears that they are going to be taken over and destroyed and that God is still on the throne and responds with this

Habakkuk 3:2 “Lord, I have heard the report about you; Lord, I stand in awe of your deeds. Revive your work in these years; make it known in these years. In your wrath remember mercy!”

Habakkuk 3:13 “You come out to save your people, to save your anointed. You crush the leader of the house of the wicked and strip him from foot to neck. Selah”

Habakkuk 3:17–19 “Though the fig tree does not bud and there is no fruit on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the flocks disappear from the pen and there are no herds in the stalls, yet I will celebrate in the Lord; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation! The Lord my Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like those of a deer and enables me to walk on mountain heights!

So the book to summarize is this:

Habakkuk prays honestly and furiously, God responds with saying “im gonna do something insane.” Habakkuk goes on a mental health emo music walk. God tells him to write this down and have faith for future restoration and that God is calmly seated on the throne. Then Habakkuk praises God and submits to His will.

And this is the pattern of Jesus. This is how Jesus prays in the garden of Gethsemene.

Before the cross, before the betrayal.

He faces intense spiritual darkness, he weeps, the author of hebrews says this, Hebrews 5:7 “During his earthly life, he offered prayers and appeals with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.”

Let us look at how he prayed.

JESUS’ PRAYER

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 26

38 He said to them, “I am deeply grieved to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake with me.” 39 Going a little farther, he fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

Besides the local church, the type of prayer that Jesus embodies here and habakkuk did has changed my spiritual life the most.

The truth is this: God knows all. He knows every sinful thought, action, you have ever done.

So you might as well tell him.

We are not supposed to keep in our soul the trials we endure. we are not to cradle our anxieties and afflictions, we are to cast them,. 1 Peter 5:7 “casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you.” CAST DONT CRADLE>

This Gethsemene/Habbakuk style prayer has affected my life because it is so raw and honest. It is telling the truth to our Lord. The truth that he already knows. It isn’t putting ourself together and then going to Him. It is us going to the Good Jesus as broken, unclean people who come to have Him put us back together.

In the hardest moments of your life, where do you run to? When you sin where do you run to? Some of us run to numb ourselves with instagram reels (chugging gravy), maybe you run to food, or any fleeting pleasures. We all run to something when we are in agony, when we are stressed, when we are depressed.

Habakkuk shows us where to run to. God.

Our Lord shows us where to run to. the Father.

Jesus doesn’t start scrolling instagram reels or playing video games to distract from the suffering and trials he is about to endure.

He endures this agony through spiritual resistance.

If He can endure, we can endure. He gives us the example of how to do this, how to get the courage to overcome.

It is in the secret place of prayer.

Habakkuk and Jesus do 4 things in this prayer: FATHER FEELS REQUESTS RESIGNS

FATHER

First, Jesus in his agony starts with saying “My Father.” Jesus had a close, loving relationship with the Father. In the beginning of creation it was the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. All that was there was love and connection. It is why you and I stand here today. Is because of the Father’s infinite and undying love of the Spirit He has for the Son. The backbone of the universe is the union of the Trinity.

So Jesus has this eternal and deep unity with the Father. And in this moment it is tested, but while there is eternal unity, there is eternal trust. He knows the hands of the Father are safe. He knows he can give it all up to Him. So he calls on His Father.

You and I get to do the same. We get to trust in the Father who created you out of love. One theologian says “you were born out of the laughter of the trinity.” You are here because of God. You are not a mistake. You are a wonderful creation, a masterpiece by the Father.

We can trust him and call on Him. The psalms use this phrase often “incline your ear to us.” His ear is always attentive to our cries. No Father would neglect his little boy or girl who cries help.

FEELS + REQUEST

Where do you go when you are overwhelmed? When you are sad? When in Jesus’ language “your soul is swallowed in grief?”

We run faster to therapy then to giving our anxieties and afflictions to the Father. I am not anti-therapy, but we so often run to reels, a therapist, or for myself: the next podcast or theology book.

Where does Christ go? He doesn’t go and vent to Peter. He doesn’t go and listen to the podcast.

He sees his problem as something that can only be solved by the Father.

And he sees his feelings not as the ultimate reality, but as a real experience.

He doesn’t base God off his feelings.

But no. Jesus affirms the kind of prayer Habakkuk teaches us.

HABAKKUK QUESTIONS GOD. WHERE ARE YOU. HOW WILL YOU LET THIS HAPPEN. DO YOU EVEN MOVE TODAY?

JESUS calls on His Father, the one who He has always been united to. and he tells him how he feels and what he wants.

FATHER. TAKE THiS FROM ME. I DONT WANT TO GO TO THE CROSS. IM TERRIFIED. HELP.

RESIGNS

But then, he resigns to the will of God.

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 26

My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done

Prayer and submission to the will of God are married to each other.

In prayer, you either change your mind or God changes his.

Jesus gives us the parables of the persitent widow and the annoying neighbor at midnight that show that somehow in the divine reality of God, man can pray and God can change his mind.

Jesus is saying in these: hey if you pray, stuff can change,

Coincidences happen when we pray.

ABabylon takes over Israel like God told Habakkuk, we have this amazing story in the book of Daniel that tells us of the faithful men of God the people mentioned in Habakkuk 3:13 “You come out to save your people, to save your anointed.

Shadrach Mesach and Abendego, the anointed faithful people of God are about to get thrown into the fire for their faithfulness to Yahweh. They say this before going into the fiery furnace.

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 3

If the God we serve exists, then he can rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he can rescue us from the power of you, the king. 18 But even if he does not rescue us, we want you as king to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up.”

THEY ARE BOLD AND SUBMITTED TO GODS WILL AND THEY GET COURAGE IF YAHWEH IS LEGIT HE CAN EASILY GET ME OUT OF THIS FIRE BECAUSE HE IS GOD. EVEN IF IT DOESNT THO YOUR GODS STINK BRO. THEY WILL LOSE IN THE END. SO YEAH ILL JOYFULLY BE SET ON FIRE FOR THE TRUE GOD.

THEN THEY WALK IN THE FIRE UNSCATHED. A MIRACLE HAPPENS.

They trust in God’s good character. Hey God i want this to happen: I want to not die in this fiery furnace, I don’t want to be lonely at school, I don’t want my parents to get divorced, I don’t want to be depressed or anxious 24/7.

Then we submit. We say Your will be done.

Jesus’ prayer was not answered—in the moment.

He gives his feelings and desires to God, and he still gets betrayed.

But, in the end the faith of Jesus and the prayer of Jesus was answered.

I bet Jesus sitting on the throne right now looking at this mustached frost tipped 24 year old thinking “oh yeah my prayer got answered.” Jesus is leaping for joy now. Prayer changes things. It either changes the circumstance or changes our mind. LET GO AND LET GOD BABY.

So Jesus finishes this prayer pattern: FATHER FEELS REQUESTS RESIGNS

And what he gets is this: courage. He is ready. The first cross Jesus had to pick up was the one in gethsemene. Luke’s gospel tells us an angel ministered to him.

Sometimes when im praying alone in my room, i wonder “wow what if an angel comes that would be cool” and then i realize how absolutely terrifying that would be so i just go and play fortnite. just kidding i just ask God to make it an invisible angel.

Anyway, Jesus gets ministered to, He gets courage. Prayer births courage in us. When we give our feelings to God in prayer, we can trust that our Father will do right. He knows our desires, He knows our feelings and He takes it all into account.

We must bring our feelings into obedience to God so that we can be ministered to and receive a change in our circumstances or COURAGE LEVEL 9000. JESUS WALKS OUT THE GARDEN LIKE A BEAST. HE CALLS JUDAS A FRIEND. SAYS THESE EPIC ONE LINERS AND HEALS THE DUDE TRYING TO ARREST HIM EARS. PRAYER BIRTHS COURAGE IN US.

CONCLUSION

2 Chronicles 16:9 For the eyes of the Lord roam throughout the earth to show himself strong for those who are wholeheartedly devoted to him.

I love this verse. This might be my life verse. God searches the whole world to show himself strong. He wants to strengthen you. He wants to minister to you. But we must give him the space to do so.

That space is prayer.

Habakkuk’s faith was strengthened by God in prayer and Habakkuk submits and praises God.

Jesus was strengthened to endure physical suffering, relational betrayl, death and hell through prayer.

I LOVE THINKING ABOUT GOD SEEING ME IN MY PAJAMAS IN FAYETTEVILLE ARKANSAS PRAYING.

BECAUSE GOD IS LOOKING JUST FOR THAT.

PEOPLE WHO HUMBLE THEMSELVES BEFORE HIM.

PEOPLE WHO CALL HIM FATHER.

PEOPLE WHO THINK PRAYER ACTUALLY CHANGES THINGS

AND PEOPLE WHO PRAY HIS KINGDOM COME AND HIS WILL BE DONE